Curry did a nice job taking over the offensive load from Ellis, who probably should have sat this one out (6-21 from the field, 0-6 from 3). Biedrins was woeful once again with just 6 and 6 in 22 minutes with a team-low (by a lot) -18.

Solid line from Lee at 16 and 15, though you have to dock him a bit for Griffin’s performance. Williams showed up with 16 off the bench, but with Curry the only player who cracked 20 it just wasn’t enough.

I guess I can’t feel too bad about this loss, as it was a road back-to-back against a fresh team that’s been playing well at home. But pretty soon the Warriors need to start winning these sorts of games if they hope to be a good team — this game was there for the taking, but they couldn’t get it done in crunch time. And there’s only so long that you can make excuses for losses before you have to expect to stay in the lottery.

Monta is a game-time decision, so if he’s out we’ll need big contributions from Curry and Reggie Williams to be competitive. Let’s see if they get a lift from the last-minute win over the Kings, or if they lack urgency as a result of avoiding disaster.

Game ball goes to Radmonovic for his two clutch 3′s in the 4th quarter, and for leading the team with a +19. Though there were plenty of players deserving last night: Monta for his huge first half (and though the foul trouble was rough, it kept him fresh at the end of the game), Reggie Williams for providing a huge spark off the bench (particularly in the 2nd after Monta went to the bench with his 3rd foul), David Lee for his solid line and great passing, and even Andris looked like the Goose of old at times before he fouled out.

The postgame talk has been about Curry’s benching at the 4:00 mark of the 4th, but you certainly can’t argue with the results. It just may be the case that against bigger backcourts, Curry will need to sit when the game slows down in crunch time to avoid being a liability on defense. That said, his early offense in this game was huge, especially after his rough game in LA on Sunday.

The Warriors now get a few days off before continuing the home stand in an MLK day matinee against the Nets, which kicks off a stretch of 3 games (Nets, Pacers, and Kings) they desperately need to win as they work to get back to .500.

Let’s hope the Warriors can play more like the team that barely lost to the Lakers on Wednesday, rather than the half-asleep losers who stunk up the Staples Center on Sunday. Seems like it’s been a long time since they had that two-game winning streak — and even longer since the inspiring win over the Hornets — as I feel like I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth for a lot longer than just since Sunday. But they get a chance to wipe that away in front of the home crowd tonight, so let’s see if they can start turning things back around.

4 of 19 from Ellis isn’t going to cut it. 3 rebounds from Lee isn’t going to cut it. 2 of 13 from Curry isn’t going to cut it. 0 points on one shot from Biedrins isn’t going to cut it. Wright was ok, but as Xian noted on the game thread his foul troubles weren’t helpful either. All in all, not the sort of performance that a playoff worthy team puts on, even in an early start on the road.

Like with the opener, this was the sort of game the Warriors need to win to have a shot at the postseason. Now they can play with house money down in LA tonight.

Thankfully for the Warriors, the Clippers aren’t even running plays for Blake Griffin yet. But Lee and Biedrins will still have their hands full with the guy who’s season-ending knee injury last year opened the door for Steph Curry and Tyreke Evans to pretend that they’re the best players in their draft class. Keys to the game:

• Interior Defense. Can the Warriors keep Blake from doing a Luis Scola impression? I think the main key here is defensive rebounding — Griffin is all about raw physical skills right now, and will likely do most of his damage on fast breaks and put backs. The Warriors need to make sure they’re getting a body on Griffin on every shot attempt.
• Interior Defense. Baron Davis is expected to repeatedly try to post up Stephen Curry. Can Curry hold his ground and at least force Davis to make tough shots? The Warriors aren’t inclined to give Curry much help lest Davis make them pay with a pass to the open man, so let’s hope that bum ankle is feeling strong tonight.