• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Biedrins, red-hot Warriors rout Durant, Sonics

Dec 3, 2007 - 5:46 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Golden State Warriors have something in common with the scoreboard atop decaying Key Arena - they are on fire.

Andris Biedrins collected 18 points and 16 rebounds as the Warriors continued their torrid stretch with an easy 109-96 rout of the Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday night.

Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington scored 20 points apiece for Golden State, which has won six in a row and nine of its last 10 games.

"We wanted to make sure we started from the first minute and make sure we win this game by a little bit more because we always struggle here," Biedrins said.

The Warriors also have won eight of their nine contests since Jackson returned from his season-opening, six-game suspension for brandishing a gun outside of an Indianapolis strip club last year.

There was never a doubt in this one for the Warriors, who were in control the entire way - leading by as many as 27 points on Harrington's 3-pointer with 8:52 left in the fourth quarter.

"I don't know what to say," Golden State coach Don Nelson said. "You can't complain when you have a lead like that. Sometimes those games are the hardest ones to coach and keep a lead. It is the NBA and, normally, teams make comebacks."

It was such a laugher that the most interesting part of the contest came with Golden State ahead 17-8 with seven minutes left in the opening period. The game was delayed for approximately 10 minutes when the scoreboard caught fire.

With smoke billowing from one of the spotlights, fire personnel lowered it to the court and quickly extinguished the flames.

A burning scoreboard was a new experience, even for Nelson, who has been around the NBA since his rookie year with the old Chicago Zephyrs in 1962.

"This was the first time," Nelson said with a laugh.

One of the older arenas in the NBA, Key Arena has been a sticking point in negotiations between the Sonics and the city of Seattle to keep the team in the Pacific Northwest. Sonics' ownership refuses to stay if a new arena is not built.

No injuries were reported, and the game resumed after a four-minute warmup period.

That was not a good thing for the Sonics and rookie phenom Kevin Durant, who scored just six points on 2-of-12 shooting. It was the first contest that he did not notch double figures in scoring through 18 games in his young career.

"I just played him tough and made him take tough shots," Jackson said about his effort to contain Durant. "I just wanted to make it hard for him. He's a great young talent and he's going to be great in this league.

"When you are guarding a guy like that, you want to make him miss his first couple of shots, because you don't want him to start off hot."

Golden State, which had six double-figure scorers, also was led by Baron Davis, who nearly posted a triple-double - collecting 14 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

"We were a step slow all night and we played as though we were exhausted," Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "There's not any team in the league you can be a step slow against, but Golden State is one of the worst."

Monta Ellis scored 18 points and Kelenna Azubuike added 14 for the Warriors.

Chris Wilcox and Earl Watson netted 16 points apiece for Seattle, which has lost seven of its last eight games.

"We couldn't recover and just couldn't get back into it," Wilcox said. "It was just one of those nights. I just think they killed us in the first half, and we headed into the locker room down 20. When we came out with a little momentum in the third quarter, they had an answer for everything we had."