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Belinelli, Warriors surge past Bucks

Dec 11, 2008 - 7:11 AM By Ryan Leong PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Marco Belinelli ignited a fourth-quarter surge that enabled the Golden State Warriors to bust open a tight game and go on to a 119-96 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

Belinelli scored 11 of his 15 points in the final 12 minutes, including a spectacular, over-the-backboard shot as he fell out of bounds.

"Everybody is part of the team and this is great," Belinelli said.

"If there is the possibility I can play, I can give something. For me, this is important. I can help this team and I believe in my teammates over there because we are young and we like to run. If we can be aggressive and focus on the game, we can win a lot of games."

The surge let the Warriors move from a one-point lead to a rout. Golden State outscored Milwaukee, 37-15, in the final quarter.

"Coach has no problem winning the game like this," Golden State coach Don Nelson said. "It's always nice to win and I'm very happy. Belinelli, I'd like to single him out. I thought he came in and played the way I pictured him playing when we drafted him. I'm happy for him ... he's waited a long time to have a game like that."

Seven players scored in double digits led by Stephen Jackson, who scored 21 points while Andris Biedrins had 18 and 14 rebounds for the Warriors, who never trailed.

It marked the first time since November 15-18 when Golden State defeated the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers that the team has won consecutive games.

"It feels really nice and I think this is a good point where we can start a winning streak," Biedrins said. "We have tough games coming up but if we play like this, if we share the ball and get everyone involved we can win against any team."

Michael Redd paced the Bucks with 27 points, but only two in the final quarter. Milwaukee has lost three straight and is 0-6 when failing to score 100 points.

"It was a frustrating loss. This was a game we thought we could win," Redd said.

"Obviously, Golden State played well. We did a poor job defending, and it was a tough night for us. We need to move on and continue to get better in practice. We have played three tough teams back-to-back, and it just didn't go our way."

Golden State went on a 9-1 run at the start of the fourth quarter to forge a nine-point lead. After a running layup by Jackson, the Warriors had a 12-point advantage with 8:20 remaining.

After a spin move by Belinelli and a shovel pass to Ronny Turiaf for a layup, the Warriors poured it on. After another layup by Jackson, they led by 23 points with 3:37 left.

"It looked like we ran out of gas and had too many breakdowns," Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said. "We have a guy or two who takes a possession off and we can't have that. We're not that type of team and we can't afford that."

All the regulars started to come out of the game with the outcome well in hand.

"It's a good win, and we're starting to play the type of ball we played the last two years when we're playing fast and moving the ball," Jackson said. "All the hard work the young guys have been doing is paying off and we need them to play like that."

The circus shot that got the crowd on its feet was Belinelli's floating baseline jumper that went over the backboard and swished the net.

The Warriors had the hot hand in the third quarter and went on an 11-2 run.

Jackson drained a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 12-point lead.

Back-to-back buckets, including a 3-pointer by Charlie Villanueva with 7:52 left in the third, got the Bucks within nine points. After a driving layup by Redd, the Warriors only led by four points with 5:59 to go.

Although the Warriors would build up a little cushion, a three by Richard Jefferson made it a two-point game with just over three minutes to go in the third quarter.

A dunk by Redd briefly tied the game at 78-78 as the Bucks responded with a 24-10 run.

Belinelli missed a 3-point shot, but C.J. Watson was there for the rebound and putback. Redd answered with a triple to make it a one-point game as the Warriors led 82-81 heading into the final quarter.