Ellis, Morrow pace Warriors to first win

The Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. — Monta Ellis had 24 points and a season-high 12 assists, Anthony Morrow added 24 points, and Corey Maggette had 20 to lead Golden State to its first win of the season, 113-105 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

Stephen Jackson added 20 points and rookie Stephen Curry had seven points and nine assists for the Warriors, who trailed by 13 points in the first quarter and were outrebounded 46-35.

Rudy Gay had 29 points and eight rebounds for Memphis while Allen Iverson added 18 points to become the 16th player in NBA history to reach 24,000 for his career. The Grizzlies lost their third straight and were held under 115 points for the first time since their season-opener.

The Warriors won despite falling into a big hole against the younger, more athletic Grizzlies. Golden State also played much of the first halfwithout starting center Andris Biedrins, who picked up three fouls in the first 5½ minutes.

But after a sluggish start offensively, the Warriors got running with Ellis and Curry pushing coach Don Nelson's fastbreak offense. Morrow, who averaged just seven points in the first two games of the season, was the benefactor after playing just 47 seconds in the first quarter.

He came off the bench to spark the Warriors' charge in the second quarter, scoring seven of his points, including a tip-in of an Ellis miss and a 3-pointer that tied the game at 43-43 with 5:02 left in the first half. A reverse layup by Ellis put Golden State ahead 49-47 and he later scored on another reverse to help the Warriors take a two-point lead at halftime.

Morrow's scoring streak extended into the third quarter when Golden State outscored Memphis 19-8 over the final six minutes to take control of the game for good. The second-year guard had 15 points, going 6-for-6 from the floor and making all three of his 3-point attempts.

The Warriors later led by as much as 15 in the fourth quarter and coasted home for the win.

Iverson, who complained about his role after playing sparingly off the bench in Memphis' game against Sacramento on Monday, scored six points during a 17-0 Memphis run in the first half. The Grizzlies used that burst and a 21-9 edge in rebounding to take a 13-point lead in the first quarter but let it slip away when the Warriors made a strong surge in the second period.

O.J. Mayo, who had career-high 40 points against Denver on Sunday, scored 14 on 4 of 13 shooting against Golden State, which beat the Grizzlies for the first time since 2007. Memphis (1-4) swept the season-series between the two teams last year.

Notes:The Warriors were without forward Ronny Turiaf, who sprained his left knee in the fourth quarter of Friday's loss to Phoenix. It's the same knee that bothered Turiaf before forced him to miss the majority of training camp.

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November 05, 2009 01:16 AM EST

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