Rockets ride ferry to victory at Golden State

By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer Oct 29, 2:08 am EDT

Preview | Box Score | Recap

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—Rick Adelman called his team out for being selfish and impatient. Then something clicked in the second half.

The Houston Rockets are trying to find themselves without sidelined stars Yao Ming(notes) and Tracy McGrady(notes), and Adelman realizes that will be a work in progress.

Luis Scola(notes) scored 15 of his 21 points in the third quarter and grabbed 11 rebounds, Aaron Brooks(notes) had 18 points and 12 assists, and the Rockets spoiled the Golden State Warriors’ season opener with a 108-107 victory Wednesday night.

“We were upset at halftime,” Adelman said. “The last two minutes of that second quarter we gave up four baskets for no reason. We just were not thinking. It was big for us because we’re not the same team. We’re trying to find out who we are. We’re trying to find out how we’re going to win. To come back and have a great third quarter, hopefully our team learned a lot.”

Anthony Morrow(notes) missed a would-be tying 3-pointer under pressure in the waning seconds and Stephen Curry’s(notes) putback at the buzzer left the Warriors a point short.

Trevor Ariza(notes) scored 14 of his 25 points in the first quarter and Houston beat the Warriors for the seventh straight time, rebounding from a season-opening loss a night earlier at Portland with a strong outing despite a strange travel day.

“This was a big win for us because it was on the road, their first game,” Ariza said. “They play with a lot of energy and to win on the road like that means a lot.”

The Rockets took a ferry from San Francisco, where they stayed across the bay, to Oakland. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is temporarily closed down for emergency repairs after a cable on the bridge’s upper deck snapped Tuesday.

“I hear the bridge was messed up,” Warriors forward Stephen Jackson(notes) said. “That says a lot about them that they had travel problems and still came in and got a win.”

Curry had an impressive NBA debut for the Warriors, getting 14 points, seven assists and four steals. Monta Ellis(notes) scored 26 points and Jackson 17.

Curry already had three steals and three assists in the opening 7 1/2 minutes. Coach Don Nelson decided last week to start the exciting rookie guard, a former Davidson star chosen seventh overall by the Warriors in this year’s draft.

Curry hit a 17-foot jumper with 6:31 to play to get Golden State within 99-95. Ronny Turiaf(notes) missed two free throws the next time down and Ariza knocked down a 3 moments later.

Jackson, the Warriors’ returning leading scorer who publicly asked for a trade in August and was later fined by the NBA for the remarks, was regularly booed and also received some cheers when things went well. Jackson appeared to cup his ear in response to the crowd when booed.

“It is what it is,” Jackson said. “I don’t expect everybody to love me. I heard it but I didn’t let it affect my game at all. To each his own. I’ve been booed many times. This isn’t the first time.”

Starting with back-to-back road games is just the beginning of a tough stretch for the injury-depleted Rockets. Houston now hosts Portland on Saturday, plays at Utah, returns home again to face the Lakers and Oklahoma City, then gets a four-day break before a game at Dallas on Nov. 10.

“We’re going to have our share of exposure the first five games,” Adelman said.

The Rockets are without Yao for the year following offseason foot surgery and McGrady, who had microfracture surgery on his left knee, isn’t expected to return until midseason.

Jackson was announced first among the Warriors starters and casually strolled to midcourt. Jackson, who received a three-year contract extension worth roughly $28 million last November, asked to relinquish his captain title earlier this month and in doing so relinquished his “Captain Jack” nickname.

Nelson dismissed a report the Warriors might be close to pulling off a trade for Jackson—and Jackson said: “If it happens, it happens. I’m just waiting to see.”

“I haven’t heard that. I speak to (GM) Larry (Riley) every day,” Nelson said. “This is the first I’ve heard of that. It would surprise me if that’s true.”

Curry’s much-anticipated debut was hyped to a near-Chris Webber(notes) level. Webber, fresh off his days as part of Michigan’s Fab Five, was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1993 and dealt from Orlando to Golden State in a draft-day trade. He went on to win NBA Rookie of the Year honors.

Curry had a steal on the Rockets’ first possession but immediately missed a 3 on the other end. He was 1 for 6 in the first half and got swatted as he went up for a layup in the closing minutes of the second quarter.

Notes: Rockets rookie Chase Budinger(notes) added 11 points with three 3s off the bench. … This was the Warriors’ fourth straight opening-game loss. “I guess that’s why I hate home openers,” Nelson said. … In a brief pregame presentation, Riley gave Morrow a plaque for leading the league in 3-point shooting percentage last season as a rookie at 46.7 percent (86 for 184). … Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell sat courtside. … The Warriors drew a sellout crowd of 19,596.

Updated Oct 29, 2:08 am EDT
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31 Comments

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  1. Ken L
    31. Posted by Ken L Fri Oct 30 11:46pm EDT

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    IS ANYBODY COACHING THIS TEAM?!! Jeez...if there's any good karma in this world (or the Bay
    Area)...the Warriors will lose enough games to where don nelson doesn't become the all-time winningest coach! What a joke if (and when) he gets it...this team is WAY too talented to be coached by the body double of the stiff from "Weekend at Bernie's"!!!
  2. JustineA
    30. Posted by JustineA Fri Oct 30 7:51pm EDT

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    LA misses Ariza! That was a huge mistake, and some of us knew it.
  3. ZOE
    29. Posted by ZOE Fri Oct 30 5:50pm EDT

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    You live in the present and look toward the future ariza said...great Job we love you Welcome to Houston
  4. ZOE
    28. Posted by ZOE Fri Oct 30 5:50pm EDT

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    You live in the present and look toward the future ariza said...great Job we love you Welcome to Houston
  5. dan
    27. Posted by dan Fri Oct 30 5:15am EDT

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    the pathetic warriors are doomed from the start. just like the clippers, it will be a long season of dissapointment for this team. just don't expect anything from this team as it is hopeless from the start. just enjoy the opponents team and their star players. or better still just watch on tv the other nba games.
  6. NadimR
    26. Posted by NadimR Thu Oct 29 10:27pm EDT

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    ROCKETS!!! psh golden state.. joke
  7. Mount.Tam Biker
    25. Posted by Mount.Tam Biker Thu Oct 29 4:02pm EDT

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    Bush and u redneck wacko's already destroyed America...idiot
  8. <i>jwc680us</i>
    24. Posted by jwc680us Thu Oct 29 1:45pm EDT

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    problem with g state is there ball hogs like maggette whos 3 for 14 while kalenna goes 6 for 7 and will produce more than jackson ever dreamed of.
  9. Kyman
    23. Posted by Kyman Thu Oct 29 12:06pm EDT

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    Other than the third quarter the Dubs didn't look bad at all. If they kept running and passed a little more they win that game.Stay small, keep running and passing and play just enough D to get a stop here and there. It's really a simple formula and the coaches get millions to figure this simple stuff out???H eck man pay me a lot less and I'll get those @#$%s winning games or they sit on the damn bench (C. magette and Jax) without any possibility of a trade. I bet they get off their asses, listen, and play ball then. Look a the Suns they used the run and gun formula for years and won games. Maybe not a championship but at least they won. We have had a similar team to them for years and can't get it right. It's amazing.Use the players you have and play them to their strengths. Instead see below:

    C. Magette helped a lot with his 3-14 shooting. He helped stall any run the warriors could have made in the third and early fourth quarters. Why the heck was he left in the game so long when we had Azubike driving the lane and dunking on people??? Bench the overpaid bust already and play the youngsters. If I'm coaching and a guy hoist up three bad shots in a row during a critical time in a game he is benched for the rest of the game. Period.If was a rookie it would be understandable but a 10 year vet,c'mon.

    Don't even get me started on out of control, bad shot taking, whining after every bad shot when he should be getting back on D, Jax. The vets are suppossed to help us win games not shoot us out of them, or say to hell with it I don't want to be a team leader.And what is his reasoning; He wants another championship. Yeah you and 100 other more deserving players making millions to be a leader @#$%. Why are the dubs kissing his ass and promising him a trade to good team?? Trade him already to a really bad team and say to heck with it.I bet he would wish he would have tried to be a leader and less selfish then. I'm sure we can get a foward that wants to lead in exchange for him. Even if the guy doesn't score and just plays defense we would be better off. How is Monte going to learn to be a leader when his best friend on the squad is a cancer. He will get traded soon also, watch. And there we have it. Another lost season or maybe 13 more. All because of bad management and one selfish player. anyone recalling the 13 years after Weber?? That's where were headed again if they don't do something about this JAX sitch.
  10. Frederick
    22. Posted by Frederick Thu Oct 29 11:00am EDT

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    Don Nelson has to be fired now, urgently, he plays small ball to much. Thanks okay onl y for 3 quarters of the game, by the time 4th Q. His small ball line up will get mashed to bits..No More please....
  11. Big Jay Vee
    21. Posted by Big Jay Vee Thu Oct 29 8:50am EDT

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    argh!" RUN TMC!" "C-Dub, Billy O n Spree," " Sleepy, The Chief n Purvis Short" the Warriors were at their best when there was some type of trio and good role players. Right now we just dont have the ingredients...Don, you really should retire, its way overdue. To #14 & #17, you guys are the type that if the Warriors were to go on and make the NBA Finals (OK IM DREAMING) you would probably say he was a great coach. Unfortunetly, he's old school and he cant coach these young guys, but to say he's one of the worst ever, yeah right. He created RUN TMC which was one of the best, entertaining teams to ever play! Anyways, I dont have nothing else to say except maybe management does need overhauling! And to the owner, you really do owe ALL THE Fans a better team. FYI #20, where ya from? Humboldt?
  12. Andy B
    20. Posted by Andy B Thu Oct 29 8:24am EDT

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    "Warriors" are garbage just like every other team in Oakland. The only thing good in that town is the weed.
  13. Darrin
    19. Posted by Darrin Thu Oct 29 6:35am EDT

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    How much are they paying maggette? like 20 million? damn he's useless besides getting to the foul line... I agree with #14, monta looked like he was showing off at times... we need randolph back ASAP
  14. M M
    18. Posted by M M Thu Oct 29 6:23am EDT

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    to #17 Paul... i totally agreed with you!
  15. paul
    17. Posted by paul Thu Oct 29 2:37am EDT

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    i feel sorry for the warriors fans. don nelson is a complete moron and is ruining your team (the owner is to blame too, of course). i have never seen a coach play his players 48 minutes in a pre-season game. don nelson did this multiple times. it's like he's trying to sabotage the team. don nelson is the exact type of coach i would want to keep away from my young PG stud. i have only watched curry play in the one game against the rockets and he looked good, but don nelson's system is so crappy that it instills bad decision making. curry made a lot of terrible plays tonight. what curry needs is a good coach and system so he can develope into a good NBA PG, and not the next steve francis.

    this warriors team is atrocious even though the team has a ton of talent. don nelson needs to be fired and forgotten as soon as possible. he's the worst coach in the NBA.

    go rockets!
  16. Redhorse
    16. Posted by Redhorse Thu Oct 29 2:31am EDT

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    CMag and SJax lost the game for the warrios. CMag kept shooting jumpers when you have Morrow, Curry to do that. He should be driving like Buke. Jax is his usual self, nice to see the 3's go in but forcing triple team is just redicolous with Morrow waiting on the wing.
  17. Blamba
    15. Posted by Blamba Thu Oct 29 2:26am EDT

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    somebody tells monta to stop ball-hogging and instead pass the ball to anyone else who is wide open
  18. <i>implicx</i>
    14. Posted by implicx Thu Oct 29 2:23am EDT

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    if Don Nelson at this age and this time of his coaching career is not one of the worst coaches in the league, then I dont know what to say. Nelson in his last 3 years has taught zero team play to these guys, defense has improved but we seem to do that in spurts, instead of the entire game. I mean the warriors were playing 1-1 bball the entire game and when their lane gets clogged they panic and have turnovers. There is absolutely no team play. No in game decisions and defensive strategies. The Rockets were hitting open 3's all day and everyone. I am not saying the Warriors are a better team, because clearly Houston without tmac and Yao..still has a lot of discipline and good game planning and execution. Turiaf is not an offensive player, yet when Monte or Jackson get trapped they throw it to Turiaf as if he is KG and is going to get a shot down or have a low post game. Turiaf is actually very useless, the fouls more than guards people, for 3 or 4 blocked shots, he in fact lets more scores to take place while trying to block or steal. I am sick of watching Nelson just destroy this young talent past 3 years. Btway we got Devean Geroge for Marco Bellineli? what the hell ..Marco is going to be a solid 3 pt player in NBA and we got a mere 2 mins per game injured player in George. Warriors seriously have major issues in their coaching and front office. The best players in the team are Azubuike, Biedrins, Curry, Randolph and Ellis (if he plays like a team mate). Ellis was clearly showing off, trying to take it to the hoop every time, instead of learning when to take his own shots and when to set up team mates since he is such a good slasher and refrains from 3 point shooting. I think Ellis needs to show his maturity and realize its not a one man show and start distributing the ball more and take good shots like he did in his first year. Corey had a bad game and his game is on the line, he should take it to the hole and get to the FT line where he thrives. It is so easy to just see how pathetic they are coached and managed and Nelson absolutely does not care or learn. He is like Bruce Bochy a horrific manager for a highly indiscipline team.
  19. John Y
    13. Posted by John Y Thu Oct 29 1:55am EDT

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    I dont think anyone cares if that bum Jamarcus Russell is sitting courtside.
  20. Peter R
    12. Posted by Peter R Thu Oct 29 1:45am EDT

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    God, this Rockets team is garbage and the Warriors couldn't beat them in their home opener. Honestly Don Nelson needs to call it a career ASAP. They had a great team in 07 but they let the core "heart" players go or traded them away and are left with overpaid garbage. It will be a long time before the Warriors are good again and we all know Nelson isn't in it for the long run. Its a dam shame because Warrior fans are some of the best in the NBA
  21. Peter R
    11. Posted by Peter R Thu Oct 29 1:45am EDT

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    God, this Rockets team is garbage and the Warriors couldn't beat them in their home opener. Honestly Don Nelson needs to call it a career ASAP. They had a great team in 07 but they let the core "heart" players go or traded them away and are left with overpaid garbage. It will be a long time before the Warriors are good again and we all know Nelson isn't in it for the long run. Its a dam shame because Warrior fans are some of the best in the NBA
  22. <i>rocky63215</i>
    10. Posted by rocky63215 Thu Oct 29 1:35am EDT

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    Randolph was forced to play due to foul trouble, the Warriors are trying to protect Randolph who was hurt in a preseason game against the Clippers. They want him 100 percent!
  23. drusalan
    9. Posted by drusalan Thu Oct 29 1:34am EDT

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    i do not like anchovies. its like eating eyebrows.
  24. Dexter
    8. Posted by Dexter Thu Oct 29 1:27am EDT

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    nahh...both team sucksssssss!!!!!!!!!!1
  25. Lixo
    7. Posted by Lixo Thu Oct 29 1:20am EDT

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    Don Nelson playing Randolph for 9 minutes is ridiculous.
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Top Performers

 Top Performers
 Houston
L. Scola Luis Scola
10-16,  21 Pts
11 Rebs, 2 Assists
 Golden State
M. Ellis Monta Ellis
10-20,  26 Pts
3 Rebs, 5 Assists

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