Family Guy: Tiefighter - We could have used these two in the second half!
Tonight couldn’t have been written any better by a Hollywood producer. Tonight’s game had beauty, heart, energy, impotence, and then a Hollywood ending!
We went down to LA to fight the Evil Empire while the Nuggets are one game behind us itching to kick us out of the playoff race. We needed more than the force to help us out tonight. How did we do it?
Well … the story of Episode III – A New Hope Jump!
1st Quarter – Entering the Staples Center
The Warriors snuck into the Staples Center hoping to catch the evil Fakers by surprise. And it worked. With determination and hustle, the Warriors were able to fend off anything the Fakers hit them with and returned the fire. It was nice to see the Warriors using the force from the very start instead of waiting till the second half.
As the storm troopers chanted MVP for their hero Darth Vader, he was nowhere to be found as if challenging us to crawl deeper within the Staples Center. Monta (Skywalker) controlled the game as he led the Warriors down corridor after corridor looking for a way to destroy the Staples Center. Hitting long range jumpers and making some impressive off balance layups, Monta was too fast for the Fakers to stop.
The first quarter was a sprint. The Warriors knew where they had to go and they kept to the plan by pushing faster and faster. The Fakers were disoriented trying to keep up. With excellent defense by Jackson on Kobe, their role players tried to impersonate Darth. Fisher looked like he was back to his old ways with his "Kobe" complex trying to jack up shot after shot. Harrington "Lando" took care of the situation by deflecting offensive rebounds to the rest of the team leading them to a 31 to 30 lead.
First half was great. Fakers using break-dance defense method. Didn’t work.
2nd Quarter – Searching for the Generator
As the Warriors pushed through the first phase without too much damage, they brought in the young guns of Wright and Azubuike. They were rusty at first but maintained the rapid pace.
"You might want to shoot next time" Han Solo chuckled as Wright turned the ball over. He eagerly forgot to let go of the ball during a layup.
Skywalker continued his frenetic speed by soaring to the basket time after time using his left hand to secure the basket. He finished the game with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Nellie, "R2-D2", sat back and enjoyed the show telling them to keep pushing as the Evil Emperor, Phil Jackson, sat back waiting for the halftime break.
Our future is bright with the force!
The lead seemed to increase every 20 seconds for the Warriors as Monta, Buike and Jackson kept pouring it in. Wright also had some great rebounds and strong hustle play by grabbing an offensive rebound here and there and pushing it to the open man.
Baron Davis didn’t act like Han Solo. He struggled to find his shot. It looked as if he was trying way too hard to create a play or make a tough shot which led to more turnovers. But in the first half it didn’t matter. The Warriors were all over the place and easily running to a comfortable lead into halftime.
Storm Trooper #1: Do they have Hover Bikes or something? They are flying past us!! Storm Trooper #2: No, they can’t have … Suddenly Baron drives past them for another layup.
Pause: Best quote of the first half:
As the first half wound down the Fakers missed 3 in a row demoralizing them as they left for the locker room.
The Warriors enter the half with a fantastic lead, 72 to 49.
3rd Quarter – Planting the Bomb
After the half, it was time for Darth Vader to take over. And he did just that. As Kobe and Monta squared off exchanging points, the rest of the Warriors team fell asleep and the Fakers came charging back. Dark clouds loomed pressing over as all the momentum shifted to the Faker side because they played with more energy and heart.
Warrior lead cut down to 20.
It seemed as though the first half along with the huge lead made the Warriors mentally check out. They lazily settled for jump shots, missing the majority of them as unforced errors piled up. Lamar Odom’s fantastic rebounding kept cutting our lead.
Warrior lead cut down to 10.
More frustration loomed as Han Solo jacked up another ill-advised 3 that didn’t go in and he kept trying to force his game instead of distributing the ball. This in turn changed the Warrior’s play as they each decided to play individual basketball to get them out of the funk, further retreating from their original game plan that worked so well in the first half.
Warrior lead cut to 6 as the third phase came to an end. There weren’t enough timeouts to bring our Warriors back into the game and everyone seemed lost. They only wish they could keep it close till the end.
4th Quarter – Explosion
Nellie brought in Wright to start the 4th and it gave them an initial spark as he made a gorgeous block on Darth. But it didn’t last. Kobe started to make more shots and the Evil Emperor employed his mind control tricks on the refs.
With Baron still struggling and Jackson not hitting a shot in the second half, the Fakers tied the game with 5 minutes remaining. What started off as a beautiful story took a tragic turn as the Fakers seized the lead with 4 minutes to go. The momentum was on the Dark Side and the Warriors chances for victory looked slim.
Suddenly the lights turned on in the Warriors' heads. Baron, still struggling and all, made a swift cut past Farmar to lay it up with 2 minutes left getting the Warriors back to even.
Praying for a Hollywood ending, Jackson used his force and drained the most important 3 pointer of the game with 38 seconds left to give them a 4 point lead! This was his first field goal in the second half and it came at the best possible time.
Down by four with 20 seconds left, Darth Vader takes the pass from Boba Fett (Fisher) and nails an impossible 3 pointer. As the bandwagon Storm Troopers stood cheering for a Warrior stop, the Warriors took the possession down the court. Then as if in slow motion, Jackson hikes up the longest 3 pointer of the game …
JACKSON HITS THE 3! Waaaaaay downtown without hesitation and 8 seconds left on the clock. He did it. His smile was as big as the stadium itself, and the Warriors mobbed Jackson as the Fakers take a time out. The Staples Center is destroyed!
Yea Baby!
Tightening up on defense the Fakers couldn’t do it as Darth chucked a 3 pointer rimming out. The Warriors escape with a victory 115 to 111.
Jackson’s interviewed at the end of the game: "We got complacent. We got relaxed after halftime. We won tonight because of Azubuike! That’s the reason we won, because of him."
And I have to agree. Azubuike came off the bench and did everything in his power to keep us from losing - grabbing rebounds, diving for loose balls, making smart basketball plays, and more importantly playing excellent D on Darth.
I lost my voice watching the last 2 minutes. I relate this entire game to that of a relationship. At first it was so beautiful, so hot and heavy, the game was sweet. Then after a while the honeymoon period was over and you begin to fight and argue. Then all of a sudden it’s ugly and depressing. But there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel and in the end, you pull through and it’s the most gorgeous thing ever!
Great win for the Warriors … but tomorrow brings the Evil Empire to our house. Can we contain them for one more game? Will our fans make an impact? Let’s find out …
I have to give the Warrior Wonder to us fans for having to go through the emotional ups and down with this game. Apart from that, Monta and Jackson share the honor for the great start and incredible ending!