Done in by Davis
SEATTLE – Baron Davis hit a jumper from just inside the 3-point line at the top of the key with 2.3 seconds left to give the Golden State Warriors a 99-98 win over the Seattle SuperSonics on Saturday night.
Golden State moved one-half game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth playoff spot in the West.
Golden State has won all six games with Davis on the floor since he returned March 5 after missing 14 games because of a knee injury. The lone loss came to Portland last Sunday when Davis did not play because of stiffness in his right knee.
Jason Richardson had 23 points for Golden State, Al Harrington had 20 and Davis added 19. Andris Biedrins tied his season-high with 18 rebounds.
Seattle, losers of five straight, fell 4 1/2 games behind Golden State.
Ray Allen had 25 points for Seattle and Rashard Lewis had 23.
Davis made 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 97 before Richardson accidentally fouled Lewis with 7.2 seconds left. Lewis split his pair of free throws to give Seattle a 98-97 advantage.
After a timeout, Davis dribbled at the top of the key with heavy pressure from Damien Wilkins. He shook off Wilkins with a dribble just enough to free himself for a good look at the basket – and calmly drained it. A stunned crowd then had to wait through another timeout, only to watch Wilkins miss a 3 from the right corner at the buzzer.
A 9-0 run put Seattle back on top at 89-85 with just more than 7 minutes left.
Lewis’ 3 in the left corner followed by a pair of free throws from Nick Collison pushed Seattle’s lead to seven – its largest of the game – at 95-88 with just more than 4 minutes remaining.
Golden State closed to 95-92.
Wilkins drove and found Lewis near the top of the key for a jumper, making it 97-92 with 2:05 to go. A basket by Stephen Jackson – who was held to eight points, seven less than his average – made it 97-94.
Monta Ellis’ steal and layup with 1:01 to go made it 97-96.
Allen missed an open 3 from the left corner with 40 seconds left. But the loose ball went off Golden State and out of bounds, resetting the shot clock. Collison missed a layup against the 6-foot-11 Biedrins and then ran into Davis trying to go for the rebound. Davis hit two free throws, tying it at 97.
Seattle missed 10 of its first 11 shots and trailed 25-9 in the first quarter. Golden State led 59-45 at halftime. Collison’s 3-point play 2 minutes into the third got Seattle within single digits at 61-52 for the first time since late in the first quarter.
Allen’s 3-point play – a cross-over dribble against Harrington on the left side – gave Seattle its first lead at 69-67 with 4 1/2 minutes to go. Then the All-Star guard had a 3 to put Seattle ahead 75-71 with 2:30 to go to complete a 34-15 run.
Davis and Richardson had back-to-back 3s in the closing minute to send Golden State into the fourth with a 77-75 lead.
Golden State took an 85-80 lead after Richardson’s 360-degree spin move and shot in the lane for a three-point play with 9:20 left.
Notes
Wilkins caught Ellis with an elbow for an offensive foul with 2:54 to go before a timeout. Ellis stayed down for about 30 seconds, but returned after the timeout. … Seattle guard Luke Ridnour returned after missing five straight games with an aggravated disc in his neck.
Warriors 99, Sonics 98
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| Golden State | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| Jackson | 34:18 | 4-12 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| Harrington | 36:43 | 8-12 | 2-2 | 1-4 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
| Biedrins | 34:41 | 4-10 | 0-0 | 4-18 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Richardson | 34:39 | 7-19 | 6-6 | 2-3 | 3 | 5 | 23 |
| Davis | 25:16 | 6-12 | 5-6 | 0-5 | 4 | 1 | 19 |
| Ellis | 27:38 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Barnes | 12:51 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Powell | 6:49 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Pietrus | 25:50 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 0-3 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Azubuike | 1:15 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Totals | 240:00 | 38-86 | 14-17 | 11-44 | 21 | 24 | 99 |
Percentages: FG .442, FT .824. 3-Point Goals: 9-24, .375 (Richardson 3-8, Davis 2-3, Harrington 2-4, Azubuike 1-1, Pietrus 1-3, Barnes 0-2, Jackson 0-3). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 20 (22 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Biedrins, Pietrus, Powell). Turnovers: 20 (Ellis 8, Davis 4, Jackson 4, Pietrus 2, Richardson, Harrington). Steals: 15 (Ellis 6, Davis 4, Richardson 2, Biedrins, Jackson, Powell). Technical Fouls: None.
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| Seattle | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| RasLewis | 44:41 | 8-18 | 3-6 | 3-6 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Wilcox | 27:18 | 7-11 | 1-2 | 3-8 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| Collison | 38:15 | 2-6 | 4-5 | 5-18 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Allen | 39:38 | 7-21 | 9-9 | 1-6 | 3 | 3 | 25 |
| Ridnour | 23:13 | 1-4 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Petro | 11:06 | 3-8 | 1-4 | 1-1 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Watson | 32:20 | 2-6 | 3-4 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| Wilkins | 23:29 | 3-6 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Totals | 240:00 | 33-80 | 25-34 | 13-46 | 19 | 18 | 98 |
Percentages: FG .412, FT .735. 3-Point Goals: 7-23, .304 (Ras.Lewis 4-9, Allen 2-8, Ridnour 1-1, Wilkins 0-2, Watson 0-3). Team Rebounds: 12. Team Turnovers: 23 (24 PTS). Blocked Shots: 7 (Collison 4, Allen, Petro, Wilcox). Turnovers: 23 (Allen 5, Ridnour 5, Watson 5, Wilcox 5, Wilkins 2, Collison). Steals: 12 (Allen 3, Collison 3, Wilkins 2, Ras.Lewis, Petro, Ridnour, Watson). Technical Fouls: None.
| Golden State | 27 | 32 | 18 | 22—99 |
| Seattle | 16 | 29 | 30 | 23—98 |
A—15,742 (17,072).