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Jackson, Warriors hold off lowly Grizzlies

Mar 16, 2008 - 6:18 AM By Ryan Leong PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - Stephen Jackson had 21 points to lead five others in double figures as the Golden State Warriors held on for Saturday's 110-107 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Needing every possible win to ensure a playoff berth in the tightly contested Western Conference, the Warriors nearly blew it against a club that has won only once on the road this season.

"We've got to play with a little more energy," said Warriors guard Baron Davis, who had 19 points and seven assists. "I thought today was one of those days where we kind of cruised and, luckily, we ran out of time. If the game had kept going, it would have gotten ugly for us."

Trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter, former Warrior Brian Cardinal nailed a 3-pointer with 5:46 to go to make it a four-point game.

Rookie Juan Carlos Navarro subsequently made two free throws, and it was a one-point game with 1:54 remaining. Davis answered with a pull-up jumper and Andris Biedrins added a putback to give the Warriors a five-point edge with 61 seconds left.

Navarro misfired on a shot from the arc, but Rudy Gay was there for the rebound and the layup to cut it to three. Gay then fouled Jackson with 15 seconds left, but the strategy did not work as Jackson converted both foul shots.

"We fought hard and never gave up," said Gay, who scored 20 points. "They allowed us to get into it because we kept playing and, when you keep playing, people miss shots and we just played through it."

The Warriors led by as many as 17 points in the third before the Grizzlies fought their way back within seven after a step-back jumper from Gay with 5:34 remaining.

Golden State used an impressive 17-6 run in the first quarter to help create a 54-41 edge at intermission.

Saturday's close call was almost another letdown for the Warriors, who had dropped games to Minnesota, Chicago and Atlanta at home despite being 17 games over .500.

"This would have probably been the worst loss out of all of them, but we didn't lose," Warriors forward Al Harrington said. "You're playing against a team that has nothing to lose, so they may make shots and play well which they did tonight but the most important thing is we won the game.

"I don't care if we won by 30 or won by one, we won."

Hakim Warrick scored 23 points for the Grizzlies, who have not won on the road since defeating Indiana on January 2 - a span of 17 games.

"The road's tough, but you've still got to find ways to win games on the road," said Grizzlies forward Mike Miller, who scored 19 points. "Teams go out and find ways to win on the road.

"We've got to do the same thing. We're a young team, we've got to understand it's going to take a little more on the road, but we'll figure it out."