For a moment about halfway through the fourth quarter, it looked as though it might really happen; that the Wizards might actually win a game on this west coast road swing. They were down by only one, 94-93, with just under eight minutes to play.
Then the Warriors kicked it into another gear, made a 14-3 run, and the Wizards lost yet another road game, 114-104. The loss brings them to 0-4 on the road for this trip, 1-35 on the road for the season, and 17-55 overall. There is one road game left on this trip, against the Jazz Monday night in Utah.
The bright spot for the Wizards was the stellar play of JaVale McGee, who can be maddeningly inconsistent one night, but show flashes of real talent the next. McGee had a career high 28 points and matched his career high in rebounds with 18.
“He played good, he got around the basket. That’s what we’ve been trying to tell him, if he does that instead of hanging around the free throw line he will have more nights like that,” Saunders said of McGee’s performance.
“It opens up penetration and John (Wall) and Jordan (Crawford) will find him at the basket. He did a nice job, he really competed,” Saunders said.
McGee said his plan was to come out strong from the opening tip.
“I didn’t try and come up tonight at all. I just stayed by the rim and tried to get offensive rebounds,” McGee said.
“I was definitely trying to be aggressive off the jump and coach drew me up a couple plays, so I figured I might as well go as hard as I can and try and get some points out of it. I took my time with my free throws and my free throws were going,” McGee said.
John Wall added 18 points and 12 assists, Maurice Evans scored a season high 23 points, and Jordan Crawford had 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Joining the injury list was Trevor Booker, who was out with a right foot injury, and Nick Young sat out the second half when he re-injured his left knee, and is scheduled to be out of the lineup Monday night.
“Shorthanded is starting to be a real familiar theme around here and as far as my season high, I’m playing a different role. I’m getting more minutes here than I did in Atlanta,” Evans said.
“I’m just trying to take advantage of it from an individual stand point, just trying to show leadership and show the guys how to play hard, just things that I think will help us be successful in this league not just this year but next year as well,” Evans said.
The Warriors were led by guard Monta Ellis who flirted with a triple double, scoring 37 points 13 assists and seven rebounds. Forward David Lee added 32 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
“Golden State plays at a fast pace. We can play at that pace but we just didn’t have enough. We ran out of gas. We just have to get out of here and find a way to compete against Utah,” Saunders said.
The Wizards and Jazz tipoff in Utah tonight at 9.
(Post game quotes courtesy of the Golden State Warriors Media Relations Department)
