Did Ellis wait too long again? He says ‘No'

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OAKLAND -- For the second game in a row, Warriors guardMonta Ellis found himself with the ball in his hands and the game on theline.The Warriors and Miami Heat were tied 96-96, with 14 secondsleft on Tuesday night, and Ellis had the ball at the top of the floor withShane Battier on him. Ellis wound down the clock and then started to make hismove as the game clock dwindled.
Ellis tried to go right, was cut off and then, afterredirection, raised up to take what could have been a game-winning shot. OnlyLeBron James helped out Battier and contested Ellis' shot.With no way to even squeeze off a shot, Ellis threw a passto Dorell Wright. But the game clock expired well before Wright could evenattempt a shot, and the Warriors and Heat went into overtime. The Warriors, wenow know, won the game in overtime, and so the fact that Golden State onceagain mismanaged the final seconds of a close game got a little lost in theshuffle.REWIND: Warriors rally to top Heat in OT, 111-106
On Saturday night in an 88-87 loss to Utah, Ellis had theball in a similar situationexcept with the Warriors down one. That night,Ellis dribbled out lots of the game clock, then missed a floater as the buzzersounded.David Lee tipped in the miss but it came after thebuzzer.After the Warriors 111-106 overtime win against the Heat, Ihad a brief conversation with Ellis about the last possession ofregulation.Question: What happened on the lastpossession of regulation?Monta Ellis: I aint got nothing to sayabout that. We came out with a win. It is what it is.Question: Do you think the next time youlltry to go a little earlier?Monta Ellis: Oh, no. In that situation,we wont go early. We want to take the last shot. Game was tied up. Worst thingwas that the game would have gone into overtime. If we were down one, I wouldhave gone earlier, but I was going to take the last shot.Question: But dont you have to goearlier so that if make a pass that guy has time to take a shot?Monta Ellis: No.

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