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November 8, 2010
Toronto (CP) -- It's possible Golden State guard Stephen Curry felt a little too at home playing in Toronto.
Curry, son of former Raptor Dell Curry, had 34 points to go with Monta Ellis's 28 as the Warriors defeated Toronto 109-102 Monday to hand the home team their fifth straight loss.
``I am familiar with the rims,'' said Curry. ``It's a pretty familiar environment and arena and it feels good when I come back.''
Curry, whose father played with the Raptors from 1999-2002, is in his second season with the Warriors after they took him seventh overall in the 2009 NBA draft.
He helped put the Raptors in a hole throughout the game Monday. Toronto managed a comeback as close as four points with 7:15 to play after a 12-point run, then to within five with 1:18 to play, but they couldn't come any closer.
``By the time we got aggressive with our defence it was too late,'' Raptors head coach Jay Triano said.
The Raptors were returning home after losing all four games on their first trip of the season and were stung by Golden State's (5-2) Curry and Ellis, who came out of the game with 1:12 to play with a lower back injury when he went to the floor after driving to the basket.
Ellis, who came into the game leading the NBA in scoring average at 27.8 points a game, was to have X-rays on his lower back and more will be known about his condition on Tuesday.
``I did get a chance to see him,'' Warriors head coach Keith Smart said. ``And the spirit is that he is good but we don't know what the result will be until later.
The Raptors (1-6), who trailed by 14 at the half and by 12 after three quarters, had 24 points by guard Jarrett Jack -- 16 in the second half -- and 20 from forward Linas Kleiza.
Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems came off the bench to contribute 12 points each. All of Weems' points came in the fourth quarter. Johnson scored eight in the fourth.
When Curry (12-for-21 from the field) and Ellis (10-for-17) did miss it seemed that forward David Ellis was in contention for the rebound. He had 12 rebounds to go with 14 points.
Curry missed games Oct. 31 and Nov. 3 with a mild ankle sprain but played the Warriors' previous two games.
The Raptors couldn't put enough pressure on either guard.
``We didn't start, obviously, very well,'' Triano said. ``It looked like we had rebounds in our hands that got knocked out, or had the ball in our hands and it bounced right to them. They got some momentum and our energy wasn't where it needed to be at the defensive end.''
``We just make the game hard for ourselves,'' added Kleiza, who led the Raptors with seven rebounds. ``But you know I think it's going to get better. We couldn't stop the pick-and-roll _ that was kind of the thing they picked us apart on.''
The Warriors played Sunday in Detroit, losing 102-97 to the Pistons.
``Unfortunately we didn't sustain the lead and got ourselves in the same predicament once again, fighting the uphill battle,'' said Jack, who led Toronto with eight assists.
The Raptors opened an 8-0 lead with 10:21 to play in the first quarter with four points on fast breaks and four from a pair of steals. But after a timeout the Warriors scored the next eight points to tie with 8:45 left in the quarter.
The Warriors led 26-19 after the opening quarter as Ellis and Curry combined for 14 points and Lee scored six. Toronto forward Kleiza led first-quarter scorers with nine points.
The Warriors reeled off 11 consecutive points during the second quarter to take a 19-point lead. The Raptors cut the lead by five and the Warriors took a 55-41 lead at the half.
``With the way we started, I thought we were going to be the ones putting the pressure on them, with them playing back-to-back,'' said Jack.``
Notes: After out-rebounding Portland 44-43 in Saturday's 97-84 loss, the Raptors entered Monday's game having edged opponents in rebounds in five consecutive games (Oct. 29-Nov. 6), something that has not happened since an eight-game string between March 20, 2009 and April 5, 2009. The run ended on Monday when the Warriors had a 42-32 advantage in rebounding. ...Raptors assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo was the Warriors head coach from 1997 through 1999. ...Raptors guard Leandro Barbosa who scored seven points in 15 minutes in Monday's left after three quarters with a mild should strain...Curry's father appeared in 194 games with the Raptors and is on the broadcasts for the Charlotte Bobcats who visit ACC on Wednesday.