Warriors hope to turn road trip around in Cleveland

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March 8, 2011

WARRIORS (27-35) vs.
CLEVELAND (12-50)

Coverage begins at 3:30 P.M. on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area

CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Golden State Warriors continue to come up short on this road trip despite some big efforts from Monta Ellis.

After another tough loss, Ellis and the Warriors hope for a better result Tuesday night when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Golden State (27-35) has lost six of seven overall and is 1-4 on a seven-game road trip that ends Wednesday at New Jersey. It has dropped its last two by a combined 12 points, following a 107-103 loss at Boston on Friday with a 125-117 overtime defeat at Philadelphia on Sunday.

REWIND: Warriors rally behind Ellis, but lose to Sixers

Against the 76ers, Ellis scored 18 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Warriors rally from an 18-point first-half deficit to force overtime. However, Golden State came up short after Philadelphia scored the first three points in the extra period and never trailed.

After suffering another tough defeat, Ellis was frustrated. All four of the losses during this road trip have been by fewer than 10 points.

"We've got to find a way to start winning these kinds of games," Ellis said. "We were right there but they made the big plays and won the game."

Ellis has been a big part of the team's ability to stay close the last two games. Before almost single-handedly leading the Warriors late against the 76ers, he scored 12 of his team's 22 fourth-quarter points in the loss to Boston, finishing with 41.

No late-game heroics were needed by Ellis in a 116-98 win over Cleveland on Jan. 7, when Ellis scored 32 points and added 10 assists and the Warriors led by as many as 21 points. Ellis has averaged 28.3 points his last three games against the Cavaliers.

The Warriors will try to close this trip on a high note against two of the Eastern Conference's worst teams.

Cleveland (12-50) failed to build off Friday's road win over New York, suffering a 96-81 home loss to New Orleans on Sunday. The Cavs shot 36.8 percent and were outscored 45-33 in the second half.

Baron Davis scored 17 points while Ramon Sessions and J.J. Hickson each scored 15. Cleveland led 61-60 with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter, but the Hornets went on a 24-8 run after a scary fall left their star point guard Chris Paul with a concussion.

Davis was making his home debut after being traded from the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 24. He shot 6 of 11 and had five rebounds and six assists, but scored only three points in the second half, missing four of his five shots.

"I think it was a tale of two halves," coach Byron Scott said. "Obviously in the first half he played great and in the second half he was kind of so-so. A little bit like our whole team it seemed like."

Davis, who played three-plus seasons for the Warriors, scored just seven points in 27 minutes for the Clippers in his last meeting with Golden State on Jan. 22.

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