Warriors win despite Davis’ early ejection

Stephen Jackson poured in 21 points and had nine assists for the Warriors, who moved within 1 1/2 games of the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference.

Al Harrington and Monta Ellis each chipped in with 17 points for Golden State, which had six players in double figures and survived without starting point guard Baron Davis, who was ejected early in the contest.

"I’m starting to feel my legs, I’m just going out there playing basketball, just trying to do whatever it takes to help this team win games," said Richardson. "Some nights its scoring, other nights its something else but whatever it takes for this team to win games I’m willing to do it to try to get to that eighth spot."

Pau Gasol led Memphis with 23 points, nine boards and five assists. Tarence Kinsey chipped in with 21 points, Hakim Warrick and Chucky Atkins each had 19, and Rudy Gay donated 15 in a losing effort. Warrick and Gay also had nine and seven rebounds, respectively.

Memphis has lost six of its last eight contests.

The Grizzlies opened their largest lead of the contest, 97-88, on a pair of Warrick free throws at 10:29. Harrington responded with a trey for Golden State to close the gap to six, before both sides combined for eight missed shots in nearly 2 1/2 minutes.

Warrick’s fadeaway jumper gave Memphis a 99-91 lead with 7:58 remaining, but Richardson scored eight straight points for the Warriors, including a game- typing three at 6:35.

Atkins countered with a trey at the other end, but Mickael Pietrus sandwiched a Richardson long-distance shot with two of his own --- answered only with a Gasol free throw by Memphis — and the Warriors held a 108-103 margin at 4:27.

Andris Biedrins’ dunk gave Golden State a seven-point margin, 114-107, with just 2:11 to play and the Warriors held on by converting 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch.

"They made plays when they needed to, offensively and defensively, and they came up with some stops and they were very aggressive down the stretch," said Gasol, talking about Golden State. "They (the Warriors) played with a lot of confidence making a lot of tough shots. They definitely made a lot of three’s when they most needed to. When we had that lead they cut it off very quickly so they played well, they played hard, they’re playing with a purpose, they’re not short-handed like we are. Not that that’s an excuse but that’s a reality."

Golden State held a slim 32-31 lead after the first quarter, but the bigger story was the ejection of Davis, who received a pair of technical fouls late in the stanza.

After scoring on an easy layup, Davis was called for the first technical with 1:22 left in the first quarter. He argued the call, then carried the disagreement into the timeout that followed before he was called for the second technical, leading to the ejection.

The Warriors used a 9-2 run to open the second. The game was tied, 56-56, at the break.

The back-and-forth battle continued into the third, as the Grizzlies took a 63-60 lead on a pair of free throws by Gay at 9:48. Memphis held its edge until Jackson’s driving layup sparked an 8-0 run by Golden State.

Richardson’s driving finger roll gave the Warriors a 74-72 lead at 4:53, but Memphis once again stormed back and went into the fourth quarter holding an 89-86 margin.

Game Notes

The Warriors are 27-11 at home...The Grizzlies are a dismal 7-32 on the road this season...This was the third of four meetings between the clubs this season. Golden State leads the series, 2-1...The Warriors shot 52 percent in the contest, while Memphis made 49 percent of its shots...Davis scored seven points before he was ejected...Biedrins finished with 13 points and 18 rebounds for Golden State, while Pietrus had 12 points.