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Davis leads Warriors to first win of season

Nov 4, 2006 - 6:27 AM OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- The Golden State Warriors used a big third quarter to help Don Nelson get his first win of the season.

Leading six players in double figures, Baron Davis scored 17 points and handed out nine assists without a turnover as the Warriors posted a 102-89 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Mickael Pietrus had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Monta Ellis added 15 for Golden State, which won its seventh in a row over Portland.

"I was very satisfied with tonight's performance," Nelson said.

During the offseason, Nelson was hired to begin his second tenure with the Warriors and 28th campaign as an NBA head coach. His first stint with Golden State went from the 1988-89 season through half of the 1994-95 campaign.

Nelson second debut was spoiled after the Warriors fell, 110-98, to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

Leading, 46-45, at halftime, Golden State made Nelson a happy man early in the third quarter.

The Warriors started the frame by scoring the first 12 points, capped by Jason Richardson's three-point play for a 58-45 cushion with 8:54 to go. They did not let the Blazers get any closer than six points thereafter.

"We were just getting out and running," Golden State forward Ike Diogu said. "We didn't really do a good job of running on Wednesday and so that's why we didn't come away with the victory, but today guys like Monta and MP (Pietrus) and everybody else were just running the lanes and getting easy layups and putting the pressure on them, so it's why we were able to go on that run."

"That's how we want to play this year, (with energy)" Pietrus said. "Throughout the season we are going to get better and I think we have a pretty good team. We just go out there and play hard and just run and enjoy. It's fun to play for coach Nellie, and as a player, that's the best thing that can happen to you."

Zach Randolph collected 22 points and 11 rebounds and rookie Brandon Roy produced another strong outing by contributing 19 for Portland, which has dropped 17 of its last 18 road contests.

"We lost, we didn't play smart," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "We didn't play together. I thought we went off and played individual basketball, which leads to this type of game, which leads to this type of result. When you don't play together and you're not doing the things that you talked about execution-wise, then everybody's on a different page and this is totally opposite the performance in Seattle."

Portland snapped its 16-game road losing streak with a 110-106 victory over Seattle on Wednesday.