Notebook: Slow start but strong finish as Warriors top Nets

More random observations from the Warriors' 105-89 win over the Nets on Wednesday, just their third road win in 12 tries:

-- The quotes are just fun to read after a win. These from the AP story:

Keith Smart: "Any time you get a win -- home, in a barn, any where you can, it's a good thing."

Monta Ellis: "Tonight was a great show of it from what we really have and the talent we have. If we just stay together, we can just grind it and keep playing hard and play together, we can turn this thing around."

Mikki Moore: "We can't just rely on Monta to score 50 points every night. That's one thing that's going to be wear and tear. By the time he gets to the All-Star break, he's going to be handicapped. I think we're starting to learn our roles. It's helping out everybody."

-- The 46-44 rebounding edge for the Warriors was not the most impressive aspect of their work on the glass, although it was one of the few times all year they actually got more rebounds than their opponent. The impressive part was the 16 offensive rebounds. SIXTEEN second chances. Not to depress you with a pop quiz or check to see who read my last game report, but do you remember how many offensive rebounds they got against the Thunder? Three. Anthony Randolph and Vladimir Radmanovic each had five on Wednesday. That would be huge if they could get that every night.

-- Speaking of rebounding, did you see the play where Moore, Radmanovic and Anthony Morrow all converged on a defensive rebound and fought for the ball? Much better than the more common sight of four Warriors standing around watching as a rebound falls to the floor untouched between them.

-- When the Warriors were down 10 late in the first quarter, how many people wanted to turn off the game for fear that it was about to become the most embarrassing loss of the season? And if you stuck with it, how did you feel when Corey Maggette, not the fan favorite these days, immediately drove recklessly into a defender and lost the ball but was bailed out by a foul call? I'm guessing more than one Warriors fan swore off the team for the rest of the season right then and there. If you know one who did -- they can be identified as the usually loud Warriors fans who are unusually quiet and out of sight today -- tell them how the game turned out and assure them they'll be welcomed back on the bandwagon.

-- For those who did hang on and watch, how worried were you when the Nets cut the lead to five with six and a half minutes to play? Did visions of those losses to the Rockets and Magic dance in your head? In both of those games, the Warriors held improbable leads late into the game before long scoreless stretches led to disappointing losses. This time, however, they finished with a 15-4 run. It was the Nets, who just set the record for most losses to start a season, after all.

-- Ellis had five more turnovers, giving him 30 in the past four games alone. Two of Wednesday's turnovers were charging calls, which got me wondering how many of his turnovers are charges considering how often he attacks defenses trying to get to the rim. I went through the past three games and found five more charges. That leaves him with 23 ball-handling turnovers, which is just under six per game. Still way too many, but a little easier to accept.

-- No matter how much the Warriors focus on defense, they'll never be considered a good defensive team because 1) they don't play good man-to-man defense and 2) they give up too many points because of the system they play. While Ellis has emerged as the closest thing they have to a lock-down defender, what they do well is challenge passes and take calculated risks when it comes to steals. They lead the league in steals this year and got 17 on Wednesday, five by Watson, four by Ellis and three by Stephen Curry. Those led to 28 fast-break points. Steals. Fast breaks. Up tempo. Easy points. That's the key to the Warriors' success. What they don't have right now is that shot blocker in the back to make up for some of those risks they take. With Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf healthy, the Warriors led the league in blocked shots last year. Erase four or five opponents' baskets each game on easy drives and a few of those close loses turn out to be wins. Both are about two weeks away from returning.

-- The Nets join the Blazers as the only teams not to score 100 points against the Warriors this year. The Nets' 87 points were the fewest allowed by the Warriors since Jan. 30 of last year. In that same span of 55 games, 15 opponents scored 120 or more, including four games of 130 or more, two games over 140 and one over 150.

-- When Brook Lopez was dominating early, I got a bad feeling in my stomach that he was another big man on a long list of players the Warriors missed out on in the draft. Looked it up because I couldn't remember for sure. Lopez was drafted 10th by the Nets in 2008. The Warriors didn't draft until 14th that year. That did alright for themselves. They got that Randolph kid.

-- Curry took seven shots in the first quarter and had 11 of the Warriors' first 34 points. On his way to that big 30-point breakout game everyone is waiting for, he stopped shooting, taking only six more shots the rest of the game and finishing with 14 points. Before the calendar turns over, Curry will have that game. He scored his high of 22 on Monday against the Thunder and is showing more aggression on offense. That game is coming, I feel it.

-- Curry and Watson combined for the play of the game. With Watson running a 2-on-1 break and Curry out in front on his left, Watson passed to the rookie who didn't even catch the ball before tapping it back immediately to Watson who finished with an easy layup. The play just goes to show Curry's understanding of the game. He could have caught the ball, taken a dribble and then tried to pass, but Watson and the defender would have been too far under the basket. He could have taken the ball to the hoop himself but probably would have been fouled instead of getting a layup. He could have tried to catch the ball and pass back, but the risk would have been a possible traveling or intercepted pass. Instead, he got the ball to Watson in perfect position for a basket that got the entire team off its feet and into the game.

-- Don Nelson, given credit for the win despite not being there, is now 17 wins away from breaking the all-time record.