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Jackson scores 36 against former team as Warriors win

Feb 6, 2007 - 5:27 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The Indiana Pacers had gotten the best of the eight-player trade three weeks ago with the Golden State Warriors. Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington helped turn the tables.

Jackson scored a season-high 36 points and combined with Harrington for 21 points in the first quarter as the Warriors took a 16-point lead and coasted to a 113-98 victory.

Monta Ellis added 21 points and 10 rebounds before leaving with a bruised left knee midway through the third period for the Warriors, who improved to 2-3 on their six-game road trip and 6-18 overall away from home.

"Well, I think the force was with us today, for whatever reason," Golden State coach Don Nelson said. "I think we played hard, played well, and all the rest of it, but the bottom line is they missed an awful lot of shots and we made a lot of our shots.

"I wouldn't put too much into this game, other than I'm sure it was interesting for a lot of people. "I wouldn't judge the trade on this game. If the score was reversed, I wouldn't do it, and I wouldn't do when we won. I think the trade was good for both teams."

Jackson finished 10-of-22 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from the arc and 12-of-13 from the line. Harrington had 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

"I'm not going to lie, it feels good to come back and beat your old team," Jackson said. "Like I told Al, I didn't know I was going to have this kind of game, but I knew that one of us was going to play well. If it would have been Al, I would have been just as happy."

Jackson had to put up all night with boos from the fans, who grew weary with his run-ins with teammates and the law in his 2 1/2 season with Indiana.

"I'm used to it," Jackson said. "I'm pretty sure they're going to boo me now; I don't play here anymore. They booed me when I was here, but there's no hard feelings. I thank the Pacers for everything they've done for me. A lot has went on in two years, good and bad, I thank them for standing behind me and I wish them the best."

Looking to spark its underachieving team, Indiana sent Harrington and Jackson to the Warriors on January 17 in a massive eight-player trade. Golden State also received Sarunas Jasikevicius and Josh Powell while Mike Dunleavy Jr., Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod went to the Pacers in the deal.

"It's always emotional when you're playing your old team," Jackson said. "We (all of the former Pacers) talked about it and I think we got everything out before the game. We just wanted to come out and be aggressive. They've been playing well, they've won six of seven, and we needed this win. We're only two games out of the playoffs, so our main focus was to win."

Despite losing their Nos. 2 and 3 scorers, the Pacers had gone 6-2 since the deal, winning their last three and six of seven. On the other hand, the Warriors had won just three of nine contests since the swap, surrendering 109 points per game during the span. But Jackson and Harrington got the best of their former team on Monday and the defense held Indiana to 35 percent (33-of-94) shooting.

"Home sweet home, and we got a win. That's most important," Harrington said. "I just told Josh that I was praying and hoping that one of us would have a big game. I definitely wanted it to be Jack, just because of what he's been through and being blamed for things that weren't his fault. So, I'm happy he had a good game and I'm happy that we won."

Playing without guard Baron Davis, who bruised his right knee Saturday at Charlotte, the duo combined to shoot 9-of-17 in the opening 12 minutes as the Warriors jumped to a 34-18 edge. Jackson added seven more in the second period as the Warriors led by as many as 26 points before settling for a 65-42 lead when Ellis banked in a running 3-pointer from just inside halfcourt at the buzzer.

"This offense and this style of play, it's easy for you to get going," Jackson said. "Everybody is involved and it's an up-tempo game. I was able to get it going early tonight and stay with it."

Indiana could not get any closer than 15 points after the break as Golden State snapped a five-game losing streak here.

"There's not a whole lot to say about this game, other than we weren't ready to play," said Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds. "We were way too friendly with the (former) guys before the game. Obviously, we have friendships there, but I think it softens you up a little bit when you greet them as extensively as we did tonight. We have got to be ready to play against teams we should beat, and we should beat these guys."

Perhaps still suffering from a Super Bowl hangover, Indiana shot just 6-of-23 in the opening 12 minutes, digging a hole in which it could not recover.

"We knew they (Jackson and Harrington) were going to be aggressive," O'Neal said. "We talked about it before the game and we knew those guys were going to come out and get their shots. As a player, you know when you get traded, you are going to come back at the team that traded you. I wasn't surprised. The biggest surprise to me was that, collectively, we weren't ready to play."

Jamaal Tinsley had 22 points and 10 assists and Danny Granger added 16 for Indiana, which committed 24 turnovers and was outrebounded, 57-42. Dunleavy, Murphy, Diogu and McLeod combined for 15 points.

"Well, it obviously didn't play out the way we thought," Murphy said. "We came out at the beginning of the game and they kind of got us back on our heels, and we were like that all night."