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Davis hands out career-high 18 assists, guides Warriors to win

Nov 17, 2006 - 6:53 AM OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Baron Davis was in a giving mood.

Davis collected 36 points, a career-high 18 assists and eight rebounds and Mickael Pietrus added 26 points as the Golden State Warriors jumped ahead from the start en route to a 117-105 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Monta Ellis scored 17 points and Jason Richardson chipped in 16 for Golden State, which won its fifth straight game here and fourth overall.

Coming off a 12-assist outing in a 110-99 win over Toronto on Tuesday, Davis nearly equaled that total in a first period against Sacramento in which he tallied 11 assists.

"I wasn't really paying attention to the numbers," Davis said. "I was just really feeling the flow and understanding there was a rhythm and I just wanted to continue to feed off that rhythm and get other guys involved."

His unselfish start helped the Warriors build a 40-28 cushion at the close of the opening frame.

"Our guys came out with great energy yet again," Golden State coach Don Nelson said. "Two guys had career highs, Baron with 18 assists and Andris (Biedrins) with 16 boards. The team has a lot to improve upon but they are moving in the right direction and most importantly, listening to the game plan."

Davis contributed in the scoring department over the next three quarters as Golden State matched Sacramento point-for-point. He equalled his career best of 17 assists in the third period before finding Richardson for a 3-pointer, making the score 110-95 with 3:23 left.

"(Davis) is definitely our most dominant player right now and we will ride him as long as we can," Nelson said. "I don't like him being out there so long, but it is a good sign to see that he is handling it so far."

Davis played almost 46 minutes.

"(I) learn something different every game about his (Davis') leadership and he's been carrying us all season," Ellis explained. "He's been doing a terrific job the last couple of games and hopefully he keeps it up and we keep winning."

Kevin Martin netted 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Ron Artest added 20, 12 and four steals for the Kings, who had their four-game winning streak ended.

Sacramento coach Eric Musselman made his first trip back to Golden State since being fired after the 2003-04 season. He went 75-89 in two seasons with the Warriors.

"Obviously we were disappointed with our first-quarter defense," Musselman said. "Last three quarters wasn't good enough to tie them each quarter. Give Golden State a lot of credit. They got out and ran and played their game. Baron Davis was absolutely phenomenal."

The Warriors shot an astonishing 74 percent (17-of-23) in the opening frame and 58 percent (45-of-78) for the contest.