LAST TIME OUT
A thrilling contest from start to finish ended in disappointment for the Warriors, who lost to the Thunder 119-116 on Tuesday night at Oracle Arena. Monta Ellis electrified the home crowd with a career-high 48 points and David Lee posted a triple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, but Brandon Rush’s potential game-tying 3-pointer was blocked by Kevin Durant as time expired. Stephen Curry added 16 points and 10 assists on a night that saw Ellis match Kobe Bryant’s NBA season-high for points in a game. FULL GAME RECAP
WARRIORS VS. NUGGETS
Thursday’s matchup will be the first of three meetings between the Warriors and Nuggets this season. Playing in Denver has never been easy for the Warriors, as the team is riding a six-game losing streak in the Mile High City that dates back to December 30, 2007. In addition, each of the Warriors' last two games have gone down to the wire, and both have resulted in defeat. Hungry for a victory, the Warriors will be up against the NBA’s highest scoring team, albeit one that is a little banged up. The Nuggets, who will be playing the back end of a back-to-back, have lost four-straight games and have been hit by a heavy case of the injury bug. However, their depth makes them a dangerous matchup, even without leading scorer Danilo Gallinari (sprained left ankle).
MONTA’S MIRACULOUS NIGHT
How Monta Ellis follows up his performance from Tuesday will certainly be one of the main things to watch for against Denver. He simply took his game to another level against the Thunder, matching an NBA season-high with 48 points on 18-of-29 shooting. It was the ninth game of his career with at least 40 points and in the process he established new Warriors season-highs for points in a game, points in a half (30 in the first half) and points in a quarter (18 in the first quarter). VIDEO: ALL 48 OF MONTA'S POINTS
DON'T FORGET DAVID
In all the hysteria surrounding Ellis’ performance, it’d be easy to miss that David Lee played one heck of a game against the Thunder. His second career triple-double (25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists) was the NBA’s fifth of the season (Rajon Rondo, Andre Iguodala, Kyle Lowry and Kemba Walker), and the first by a power forward. Lee’s feat was indeed quite rare, as you’d have to go all the way back to December 23, 1993, for the last time a Warriors power forward had a triple-double (Chris Webber: 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists – vs. Clippers).
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