(My Sportsbook) - The
Golden State Warriors ended a brutal six-game road trip by finally earning their second win of the season.
The victory came Monday against the winless Memphis Grizzlies, and the Warriors barely held on.
Golden State led by 12 points after three quarters and scored the first 13 points of the final period to grab a 94-69 lead with 7:50 left. The lead was 100-82 with just over three minutes to go and the Warriors seemingly had the game clinched.
However, the Grizzlies responded with a 19-3 surge to pull within just three, 104-101, with 21 seconds left. Fortunately, Dean Oliver and Troy Murphy each made two free throws to seal it for Golden State.
Warriors head coach Eric Musselman tried to put a positive spin on the cardiac victory.
"We've been on the other side of this game before and we feel as if this game was a great learning experience for the rest of the season," Musselman said. "We are extremely happy with this win. It doesn't even matter about the last "We are extremely happy with this win. It doesn't even matter about the last five minutes of the game. The biggest change would be that we won."
Golden State guard Gilbert Arenas echoed Musselman's statements.
"We just lost the last six games straight. We can only go up from here," said Arenas. "The team has to fight for the win. We knew it was going to come down to the wire. We were two teams hungry for a win."
Antawn Jamison exploded for a season-high 37 points on 14-of-26 shooting in the contest. He also hit 9-of-10 free throws and grabbed 11 rebounds.
It was the second time this season that Jamison reached the 30-point plateau, and in both cases the Warriors came away victorious. He poured in 36 in the season-opening victory against San Antonio.
"Jamison is a tough matchup for any team," Musselman said. "We put him in the three spot and feel that he really has been more effective in that position. He is able to post up on the smaller forwards and take the ball to the goal."
But the Warriors shouldn't need Jamison to keep up a 30-point pace. The team has a great chance to gain some ground in the weeks ahead, playing 11 of their next 13 games at the Arena in Oakland.