DECEMBER 21 , 2004
GAME OF THE DAY:
SACRAMENTO - WASHINGTON 102 - 104 (Antawn Jamison 36pts - 14rebs)
DECEMBER 22, 2004
THE GAME: GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS vs. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
This contest started with
Jason Richardson being hot from the field scoring his team's first 6 points and making a good start for a struggling Warriors' team in the season so far. On the Grizzlies side, the main threat was
James Posey, who played strong and hard defense, while scoring difficult baskets on the offensive side, mostly by driving in the lane and picking up fouls.
The first quarter ended 27 - 24 for the Warriors.
The second period was close, as each team couldn't shake the other completely to gain a substantial lead.
Pau Gasol picked up his game and started overpowering his man-markers in the key, ending the half with 15 points, most of which were scored in the second quarter, namely in the final 5 minutes.
Richardson was still the maestro on offense for
Golden State, and the sole reason that they
managed to end the half leading 55 - 51, holding off on an impressive one minute long 7 - 2 Memphis run in the end.
Vlade Divac was not of much use in the first half, but J-Rich's performance on offense more than made up for it...
The second half of this game was a copy of the first. Close game, with the lead exchanging hands on numerous occasion, tight D, and a plethora of unforced turnovers from both sides. It wasn't pretty, but it definitely was a nail-biting spectacle. In the third quarter,
Richardson cooled off on his offensive production, and the mantle was assumed by
Troy Murphy who was using his agility to shake off Memphis' big men, while bringing down the boards like crazy at the same time. The Griz were still counting on
Pau to carry the load, but Golden State's great overall defense during those 12 minutes was excellent, allowing only 15 points in that time, thus
ending the quarter 72 - 66 for the home side. In the final quarter, the contest opened up a bit with a couple of fast breaks breaking the monopoly of the slow tempo thus far.
Both teams strangely enough switched to zonal defenses, which resulted in quite a number of outside attempts finding their way to the basket. J
-Rich and Gasol were duking it out on their own up until the end, with Golden State always keeping a slight lead, up until the end. The final 2 minutes resulted in a free throw contest, but
the Warriors showed composure to clinch this game 92 - 90.
Golden State played uncharacteristically strong and physical defense in the second half, resulting in aggravating the soft Grizzlies' forwards...
POG: JASON RICHARDSON 30pts
GS TOP PLAYERS:
TROY MURPHY 12pts- 12rebs - 4ast
RODNEY WHITE 8pts - 6rebs - 18mins
VLADE DIVAC 9pts - 7rebs - 23mins
GAME OF THE DAY:
ORLANDO - SAN ANTONIO 84 - 94 (Tim Duncan 35pts - 20rebs - 7ast - 4blk)
DECEMBER 23, 2004
GAME OF THE DAY:
SACRAMENTO - MIAMI 120 - 88 (Chris Webber 27pts - 10rebs - 6ast)
DECEMBER 25 , 2004
GAME OF THE DAY:
LA LAKERS - MIAMI 101 - 90 (Kobe Bryant 27pts - 5ast - 12/19 FGs)