Final Boxscore  |  Open Thread (350+ Comments)

With Maggette out, Monta out, and the real Nellie missing, this is just a bad Warriors team. I could write all about the negatives of this loss because that would be easy to do. Instead of writing another downer, let's look for the bright spots and leave it at that. I already wrote how disgusted I was from Monday's game, so why kick a team while they're down?

Be sure to check out Indiana Pacers blog, Indy Cornrows, for their recap, Pacers 127, Warriors 120: Pacers Close Out Dubs

Hit the jump for the positivity!

Marco Belinelli!
Wow. Talk about taking advantage of playing time. Marco had perhaps his finest game as a pro. 21 points on 8-16 shooting to go with 4 boards and 4 assists. Offensively, he's been playing very well in the last 6 games, much, much better than I ever expected from him. He's put together a nice string of games and shown that he can at least score. Whether he can keep it up or not is unclear but it sure is nice to see some production out of a top 20 first rounder.

He's showing a lot of confidence out there, something he usually doesn't play with. Usually he plays tentative but his body language out there is showing a different player. It's like after he came out and said he was unhappy with being stuck with DNP-CD's, he now plays like he belongs. Whether or not he does is another matter, but I do like seeing the confidence, improved shot selection, and nice passing ability. Let's see if he can keep this up over the course of 20 games. That's the true test. I like what I see so far and hope he can keep it up. And I hope I have to eat my words that he's a bust.

Dunmurphy Didn't Beat Us
I'm just glad that Troy Murphy and especially Mike Dunleavy Jr had zero part in this victory over the Warriors. Watching Dunmurphy tear apart the Warriors tonight and help the Pacers to victory would have been excruciating. I think I would have curled up in a ball and cried myself to sleep. Thankfully that didn't happen and now I can go to sleep just curled up because it's so damn cold. No crying here.

Thinking about that trade, it's funny how that trade happened less than 2 years ago and the only player participating in the game tonight from that trade was Stephen Jackson. And even he's injured. Ike Diogu helped inadvertently by being part of a trade for Jarrett Jack. Jack dropped 24 tonight on the Warriors and hit a big shot down the stretch for the Pacers. Again, I'm just glad the Dunmurphy sisters didn't have anything to do with this loss.

It's Tanking Time
No seriously, the Warriors must be tanking it. They've finally realized that this season is over and the best thing to do is to lose games and get the best draft pick possible. Think about it. ESPN just came out with their Lottery Mock Draft feature and the Warriors were slated to get the 5th pick. That's not good enough for Nellie and co, they need a top 2 pick. The only way to get that? Lose games. But at least keep the score close so it doesn't look like an outright tank job. I mean seriously, getting blown out by the Pacers who are missing 3 of their starters? Clearly tanking. Losing in the final 2 minutes of the game instead? Subtle tanking. I see right through this Nellie, you can't fool me. Blake Griffin, Ricky Rubio, welcome to Oakland.

Stephen Jackson
Finally shot better than 25% in a game. His previous 3 games? 2-14 (14%), 1-13 (8%), and 3-14 (21%). Tonight he went 8-14 (57%). He made more field goals tonight than he had in his previous 3 games combined! His hand may still be bothering him, but tonight he finally found his shot. Hopefully it continues but I have a feeling he found his shot because the Pacers don't like to play defense. Going into the next few games will be a real test of that hand and his ability to shoot the ball above the 25% threshold. Glad to see Jack do well.

High Scoring
The Warriors are a cure for teams struggling to score and a boon for high scoring teams. If the Warriors are going to lose, I'd rather see a game where both teams break 120 than a game in double digits. Look what we were treated to tonight from the Pacers side. Danny Granger is quietly having a very nice season and tonight he dropped 41. Unless you're playing fantasy hoops, you wouldn't know that he's scoring 24 per and one of the top 3 point shooters in the league. There's also Marquis Daniels who scored 23 in just 30 minutes. He's quietly resurrecting his career averaging nearly 16 points per game this year. And of course, how could I forget Jeff Foster, Mr Offensive Rebound tonight. 7 offensive boards? Talk about keeping possessions alive and working in the paint. Look, if the Warriors are going to lose, at least let the scoreboard operator's job more difficult than normal.

More Warrior Bright Spots

• Andris Biedrins, yawn, recorded another double double, yawn.
• Kelenna Azubuike got his. 18 points, 9 rebounds. Bounced back nicely after having shot just 2-14 against the Magic.
• Nellie is letting Brandan Wright fully recover from his flu. We need Brandan to not spread the flu around to other players on the court. He needs to be 100% healthy when he starts to play big minutes again. I mean why else would he only play 7 minutes?
• Jamal Crawford had just a single turnover. For a guy who handles the ball as much as he does, that's a great number to see. The 9 rebounds were great considering in his last 8 games, he's had 11 rebounds total. Oh and the 29 points helped even though he did shoot just 11-26.
  

Just call me Mr. Positivity because that's all I'm bringing for this recap. The next recap, you may not be treated to such niceties.

What are some more positives from this game?

The Warrior Wonder for tonight goes to, gulp, I can't believe I'm doing this, Marco Belinelli.