But the defense couldn’t hold in overtime, and at the end of the day this counts as another L. Looking at the comparative stats above, they didn’t have much business even being this close as they were significantly outrebounded and lost almost every statistical category.

Monta was great late, and Curry had a solid game despite riding the bench throughout most of the 4th quarter (smart move by Smart, as the lineup he had out there was working). I also thought Ekpe played well, though his foul trouble knocked him out early in the 3rd and he never found his way back in.

I liked seeing Lee play the 5 at the end of the game, and he had another solid stat line (14 and 14) but poor +/-. Still, that was nothing compared to Biedrins, who managed a -16 in just 9 minutes of action.

And how about Evan Turner? After struggling throughout the earlier parts of the year, looks like the dude is finally putting it together. He was a game-high +25 (in a game his team only won by 8), and was all over the place at the end of the game.

So the road trip continues, and after a night off we get to play Baron and the Cavs. That will be an easier game than tonight, though you know he’ll be motivated and we just saw how good he can still be if he puts his mind to it.

• Smart Coaching. I’d consider this game to be a good test of Keith Smart’s coaching: they played a good game in Boston, so can they build on it or will they regress? Too often this year, the Warriors have played well in a loss against an elite team, and then followed it up with a stinker — and I blame coaching for those sorts of weak rebounds. Tonight gives a perfect chance to once again test that pattern.
• Moar Monta. Monta is coming off his best game in weeks. Can he continue his surge back to his early season form, or will he throw up another volume 6-26 shooting night?
• The Rook. Ekpe got the start against Boston, but only played 12 minutes (partly, I would assume, because the Celtics went small most of the night). Can he stay on the floor a bit longer tonight and even pull down a handful of rebounds? While he’s become a solid defensive player, it would be great to see him make a bit of progress in terms of scoring and rebounding before the season ends.

David Lee outplayed Elton Brand, even with missing a few easy ones (21 & 16 +15 versus 16 & 16 -16) or 0 and -1 in respect to the team +/-. I was personally not feeling any regrets about Brand not being in a The City uniform. Any max big should be getting 15 & 15 on the Warrior’s with their eye’s closed. Add that to fact that Brand was a monster on the boards in the first half but seemed to disappear in the second half and you don’t have a “Winner.”

Jrue Holliday on the other hand played really well and looked fantastic. As Fitz pointed out about a dozen times he looks like a leader out on the court. Did he outplay Curry in this game? Probably but maybe not as much as their point and assist totals will lead you to believe. Holliday went for 23/11 while Curry sported 17/8 while their +/- versus the team were similar +2 versus +3. Holliday certainly has the appearance of having the higher ceiling, but for some reason I just picture him languishing on a bad team not making the other players around him better, where as Curry just seems to scream Playoff PG who makes his team mates better. I have no stats to back this up and it may not even be true, but that is my impression early in their careers.

Monta had an off night but when 20 points scored on 8-19 is an off night I will take it. More importantly maybe was his perfect night, 4-4, from the stripe. Over the last 4 games his FT% has been much better. Hopefully he is turning that corner. Monta also had 12 assists, most if not all of which were very legitimate assists. On a night when his shooting touch was a little off he got his team mates the ball. “He has had at least seven assists in four straight games, a first in his career.”

Udoh showed a few flashes and Admundson seemed to miss shots I could have made.

Who have I left out? Oh yeah D-Wright had a decent game. 25 points 5-7 from behind the arc, 4 assists with 0 TOs, the dude was a beast and really led the 3rd quarter pull away. Overall the Warriors were electric behind the arc going a combined 15-23, 65%. It is pretty easy to win games when you are hitting that many 3s.