Everyone was hyping this guy before this game, but as I predicted, it was Jason Richardson (36 points, six boards) that the Pistons had to watch out for.
Yeah, Davis had 14 points and 14 assists, but the dude turned the ball over all night long. He was officially credited with just two turnovers, but the dude shot just 5-of-18 from the field and 0-for-5 from three-point land, needlessly ending possessions early with ill-advised shots. I don't understand how anyone can gloss over his poor shooting and claim this guy is MVP material -- all those missed shots early is what creates close contests late.
Mike Dunleavy is a sieve, plain and simple. He had his nice little offensive spurt in the second half when he was nailing back-to-back threes, but the Pistons attacked him on defense all night long and he just took it on the chin like he was on the casting couch. Why this team gave him $44 million, I have no idea, but after seeing him in action yet again I was suddenly reminded why that Tayshaun Prince insisted on getting than him when he negotiated his extension.
Aside from that, my only other Golden State observation is that Derek Fisher continues to be a very underrated player. This guy could still start for more than a handful of teams in this league. He shot just 3-10 from the field but finished with 15 points off 9-10 shooting from the charity stripe. Just a heady player.
I was actually surprised to see Rasheed Wallace finished with just 22 points and eight boards. He must have just hit them all at the right time, because it seemed like he hit big shot after big shot tonight. Plus, it was good to see him stay close to the lowpost where he's most effective instead of drifting out to the three-point line so much like he was for a while late last month.
Head over to the box score for the rest of the details. All in all, it was a good close game that came down to the final seconds -- just what fans were waiting for after five full days between games.