Antawn Jamison poured in 35 points and rookie Jason Richardson added 23 as the Warriors avoided finishing with the worst record in the NBA, snapping a six-game losing streak with a 107-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
By winning the finale of the 1,189-game regular season, Golden State (21-61) finished tied with the Chicago Bulls for the worst mark in the league. That means that the teams will split 450 of 1,000 chances in the NBA draft lottery.
Richardson made two free throws with 47 seconds left that gave Golden State a 105-103 lead. Rookie Gilbert Arenas stole a pass from Elton Brand and Richardson converted a layup with 19 seconds left for the final margin.
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Dunk champ Jason Richardson can leap a tall building in a single bound. Rocky Widner NBAE/Getty Images |
Corey Maggette scored 27 points to lead Los Angeles, which rallied from a 61-43 halftime deficit only to fall for the fourth straight road game.
"When you're down by 20 points and trying to get back into it, you have little margin for error," Los Angeles coach Alvin Gentry said. "All the credit goes to them because they made all the plays down the stretch."
The Clippers began their charge back in the third quarter, outscoring the Warriors, 35-19. Brand opened the fourth with a basket to tie the game and the contest stayed close thereafter.
A 3-pointer by Richardson snapped a tie and triggered a 9-2 spurt that gave Golden State a 101-94 lead with 2:50 remaining. The Clippers scored seven straight points to tie the game before Jamison's short jumper provided a 103-101 lead. Brand threw in a hook with 63 seconds left to set up the frantic finish.
"We had a game last night and I think that began to catch up with us in the second half," Richardson said. "Luckily, we were able to get some things going to the basket in the fourth quarter."
Arenas scored 19 points and added six rebounds and six assists for Golden State, which shot 47 percent (39-of-83). Adonal Foyle grabbed 11 rebounds as the Warriors held a 47-45 edge on the glass.
The second quarter featured eight blocks by Erick Dampier, who matched the NBA record shared by Manute Bol and Dikembe Mutombo. Bol did it twice with the Washington Bullets and Mutombo did it earlier this season for Philadelphia.
Jeff McInnis scored 22 points as Los Angeles placed all five starters in double figures. Brand collected 18 points and 15 rebounds and Michael Olowokandi added 10 and 11.
"We just came out sluggish in the first half," McInnis said. "Coach got on us and we came out ready in the second half but we just came up short."
The teams split their four meetings this season.