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Ellis' last-second shot lifts Warriors over Suns; Curry injures foot

Feb 23, 2012 - 5:50 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Monta Ellis scored 26 points and made the game- winning jumper with one second left, lifting the Golden State Warriors over the Phoenix Suns, 106-104.

Ellis' fadeaway jumper with Grant Hill in his face snapped Golden State's 13- game losing streak in Phoenix. The Warriors won in the desert for the first time since March 18, 2005.

"We played hard together as a team," Ellis said. "I mean, my teammates, I give them full credit - catching the ball when I was passing it, setting great screens for me, getting me open shots and making big shots down the stretch, and getting defensive stops on the other end."

Dorell Wright and David Lee added 23 and 22 points, respectively, for the Warriors (13-17), who head into the All-Star break on a two-game winning streak.

The news was not all good for Golden State, which lost point guard Stephen Curry to a tendon strain in his right foot. The Warriors also saw forward Ekpe Udoh leave the game with a left knee contusion.

Marcin Gortat ended with 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Suns (14-20), who head into the break with five defeats in their last seven games. Channing Frye donated 22 points and nine boards.

Trailing by one, 100-99, with 2:26 to play, the Warriors scored five straight points to take the lead. Lee made 1-of-2 from the foul line and Ellis followed with a jumper to make it 102-100. Nate Robinson then stole the ball from Hill and raced the other way. He was fouled hard on a layup and made both shots from the charity stripe to give Golden State a 104-100 margin with 1:24 remaining.

Jared Dudley was off the mark with a three-pointer at the other end, but Frye was there for a putback slam.

The Warriors failed to build on their two-point lead. Lee missed a jumper and Dominic McGuire was off the mark with an attempted tip-in. Wright then turned the ball over under the hoop. The Suns called a timeout with 19.4 seconds to play.

Hill was able to tie the game at 104 on a driving layup with 11.9 ticks left on the clock. Despite a great defensive effort at the other end, Ellis made a 13-foot jumper to put Golden State ahead.

Frye missed a three-pointer from the corner as time expired.

Golden State came out of the gates on fire, shooting 60 percent from the field in the first quarter. They led by as many as 19 in the period and took a 39-22 lead into the second.

"The game was lost in the first ten minutes of the game," Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said. "We got an opportunity to do something good and we come out like that is just ridiculous. It's unfair to the fans in the stands. The way we approached the game sucked. What we do is exactly what I said in the first timeout. We dig ourselves a hole then we have to play so hard to get back it's a perfect storm."

The margin reached 21, 59-38, on an Ellis jumper with 2:04 to go before the half. Phoenix managed to score the next seven points to cut the gap to 59-45 at the break.

Down 78-68 with 3:35 remaining in the third stanza, the Suns ended the quarter on an 11-5 run. Sebastian Telfair's three-pointer with 1.3 seconds to go cut the gap to 83-79.

Phoenix put together a 6-0 spurt past the midway point of the fourth to take a 96-94 lead with 3:50 to play.

Game Notes

Golden State took two of three from Phoenix this season. The Warriors won the season series against Phoenix for the first time since the 1994-95 season. The Suns fell to 2-1 on a six-game homestand that continues on March 1 against Minnesota...The Warriors started a six-game road trip on Wednesday that continues on February 28 at Indiana...X-rays on Curry's foot came back negative...The Warriors went 9-of-20 from beyond the arc...Golden State's 39 points in the first quarter was a season high...Robinson had 14 points off the bench.