Ellis led the Warriors with 26 points and six rebounds. Dorell Wright had one of his better games and finished night with 23 points and seven boards. David Lee had a relatively quiet night with 22 points and four rebounds. From the bench, a scoring punch came from Nate Robinson who finished with a stat worthy night of 14 points, five assists, three steals and two boards.

The Warriors came out blazing in the first quarter as they finished 39-22. But even with a huge scoring differential in the first quarter, the Warriors got outworked in the paint as they were outscored 56-32. But they overcame the advantage for the Suns by hitting over 40% of their threes and shooting over 80% on free throws.

It was also good that the Warriors grinded out a win.

“I feel like we executed on both sides of the basketball when it matters most,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “If I had to design a win, I would have designed it this way. It was much better for our future to grind out a win.”

All this without Stephen Curry, who left the game with a strained right tendon in his foot. Now how does it feel to see Jeremy Lin blow it up in NYC, when the Warriors had this guy for at least another year and then be a restricted free agent?!?!?!

Feb. 22, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis (8) shoots against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at the US Airways Center. The Warriors defeated the Suns 106-104. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE.

And while the Warriors have proven every game that they compete with any team, it will be another hard fought battle tonight. And it’s not for the lack of skill or scoring the but the lack of effort. Saturday’s loss was because they didn’t secure a defensive rebound and gave the o-board to the other team for the put back and win. They were out rebounded 45-31 and outscored in the paint 44-22 in the loss to the Grizzlies who have a decent front court. Tonight, they will face a pretty good front court and it will take the all 8 men in the rotation to contribute in boxing out and securing the boards. Boards win games and championships.

Blake Griffin and Chris Paul come to town with a chip on their shoulder. With a lack luster effort against the Spurs, they hope to have all the pieces fit right together. Griffin has only scored four points in the final period in the last three games. He’ll look at tonight’s game as an opportunity to right the ship.

Warriors Projected Starting Five

PG) Stephen Curry
G) Monta Ellis
F) Dorell Wright
F) David Lee
C) Andris Beidrins (why?!?!?)

Clippers Projected Starting Five

PG) Chris Paul

G) Randy Foye

F) Caron Butler

F) Blake Griffin

C) DeAndre Jordan

February 18, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (32) dunks to score a basket against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Feb 18, 2012; Memphis, TN, USA; Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee (10) drives to the basket around Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley (11) during the second half at the Fedex Forum. Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Golden State Warriors 104-103. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE