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Friday, Feb. 18 10:30pm ET
Hughes scores 22 in Warriors debut | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Near the end of a rare Golden State Warriors blowout win, the usually subdued crowd broke into a chant, calling his name again and again. Larry Hughes ate it up. He turned toward the crowd and nodded and then to no one in particular remarked, "They didn't think I could do it." Hughes showed in his first game for the Warriors why they traded for him. He was at the center of Golden State's best offensive show of the season, scoring 21 points in a 122-100 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night. "I feel good. We got a win," Hughes said. "I tried to do a lot of things and help get my teammates involved. We are going to try to turn this thing around the next couple years." Mookie Blaylock added 18 points, Jason Caffey had 17 and Erick Dampier and Sam Jacobson had 15 points apiece for the Warriors, who snapped a five-game losing streak while scoring a season high in points. Hughes, who saw little playing time in Philadelphia, where he was stuck behind Allen Iverson, added nine rebounds and five assists in his first action since joining the Warriors this week as part of a three-team trade between Golden State, Chicago and the 76ers. "I was relieved. I felt freedom," Hughes said. "I felt like somebody wanted me to show what I can do and it's time for me to do that." Golden State coach Garry St. Jean, who had said after the trade that he couldn't wait to get the 21-year-old Hughes in the lineup, said his debut was everything he hoped for and promised there's more to come. "More than anything else, I was impressed with his instincts at how to run a basketball play," St. Jean said. "When you a young player who can play at that level, it makes everyone else play better." Boston coach Rick Pitino said the addition of Hughes was a huge lift for the Warriors, a struggling franchise that has had five different coaches over the last six years. "Larry Hughes is a terrific player," Pitino said. "It was a great trade for the Warriors. He needs playing time and he's going to get it." Danny Fortson scored 18 points to lead the Celtics, who were overwhelmed in the third quarter, when they were outscored 36-13. Dana Barros added 16 points and Vitaly Potapenko had 14. Golden State's dynamic scoring spree came without their leading scorer, Antawn Jamison, who sat out his second straight games with a sore left knee. "The win is the key," Hughes said. "Nothing would be good without the win. It doesn't matter how many points you score or what else happens. As long as you get the win, you have something to build on." Down by eight at the half, the Warriors overtook the Celtics with their biggest third-quarter of the season -- 36 points -- while limiting Boston to just 13. The Celtics, who led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter, fell behind 68-67 when Caffey drove the lane for a dunk. Potapenko answered with a layup to put Boston back in front 69-68 but the Warriors scored the next 12 points, starting with a 3-pointer by Blaylock and a jam by Caffey set up by Hughes' slashing move inside and a last-second flip pass to his new teammate. By the time the fourth quarter started, the Warriors had reversed their biggest deficit of the night by moving out to a 15-point lead, 87-72. "They came out in the second half with a lot more emotion than we did," Paul Pierce said. "We can't come out at halftime, thinking the game is over. They came in with a lot of momentum and carried it through the second half and we didn't do anything about it." Hughes helped keep the pressure on the Celtics, scoring nine of his points in the fourth quarter including a dunk followed by a 3-pointer that put the Warriors up 101-80 with 7:28 left. Hughes set the tone for the offensive show two minutes into the game when he rebounded Caffey's missed shot and threw down a dunk, drawing a roar from the crowd. Moments later on the defensive end, he swatted away a shot by Pierce and the crowd was on its feet. Golden State was down by as many as 15 points before rallying to 59-51 at tall Golden State's momentum before Tony Farmer came on to hit a jumper in the final moments of the second quarter, pulling Golden State to within 59-51 at halftime. Game notesBilly Owens, who came over with Hughes in the trade, had nine rebounds, seven points and six assists in his first action with the Warriors. ... Golden State remains the only NBA team that has yet to lose when leading after the third quarter (10-0). ... Walker has scored in double figures in 50 of 51 games this season. ... Boston is 1-1 on its six-game road trip. The Celtics began it last Tuesday by winning at Utah. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Boston Clubhouse Golden State Clubhouse Warriors welcome Hughes, reunite with Owens
RECAPS Philadelphia 104 Cleveland 75
Golden State 122
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