Larry Brown Sports

The Golden State Warriors were able to beat the Denver Nuggets on the road in a high-scoring affair on Tuesday night, and an outstanding performance from Harrison Barnes helped get them there. The former North Carolina star led the way with 24 points and six rebounds, but it was his reverse jam in the fourth quarter that really put the exclamation point on the evening.

As you can see, the Warriors bench loved it. This GIF that @cjzero passed along encapsulates their reaction to perfection:

Golden State did what it had to do in tying the series 1-1 before heading game for Game 3. The Warriors have lost David Lee for the remainder of the playoffs, but they proved on Tuesday that they are still capable of lighting up the scoreboard. Barnes averaged only 9.2 points per game during the regular season, but the team will need more 24-point performances from him in the absence of Lee if they want to advance to the next round.

Andrew Bogut was upset with the Houston Rockets for running up the score Tuesday, so he responded by calling them out over Twitter after the game.

Bogut called the Rockets a dirty name while referencing the next meeting between the teams in his incredibly crafted tweet:

C U Next Tuesday fellas!

— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) February 6, 2013

In case you couldn’t figure out the bad name Bogut called the Rockets, just look at the first letter of the first four terms he wrote.

Why was Bogut so steamed? The Rockets worked the Warriors 140-109 in Houston while making 23 3-pointers — one short of setting the NBA record. The home fans were chanting for the Rockets to get the record, but the Warriors wouldn’t allow it; they began fouling the Rockets to prevent them from attempting threes.

“We’re not going to lay down,” said Warriors coach Mark Jackson after the game. “So if you’re going to try to get the record, we’re going to stop you. There’s a way to get the record. That’s all.”

Rockets coach Kevin McHale shrugged off the game’s ending.

“We shoot a lot of threes,” said McHale. “That’s just what we do. Mark didn’t want it to happen so he fouls. I have no problem with how they played. Mark’s got to coach his team. I have no problem at all with that.”

Bogut had 10 points and nine rebounds in the loss — his fourth game back from an ankle injury. As he reference in his tweet, the teams will rematch in Oakland on Tuesday. We know who we’re picking to win that one.

H/T Minus Twenty-Two

The Los Angeles Clippers had a number of poorly-executed offensive sets during their 115-94 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, but one of those sets was particularly embarrassing for Blake Griffin. With the Clippers trailing by 12 late in the third quarter, Griffin somehow wound up with the ball in his hands deep in the corner and just over 1 second on the shot clock. Uh oh.

As you can see, Griffin hit the side of the backboard on a three-point attempt. It was the 11th three-pointer he has attempted this season, only two of which he has knocked down. For his career, Griffin is 11-of-51 from beyond the arc. This amused the Warriors’ bench, who made the most of the rare opportunity to clown on Griffin for the horrible shot.

When your highlight reel consists of monster dunks like this and this, you’re typically the one doing most of the laughing. Having opponents point and laugh at him was probably unfamiliar for The Blake Show.

The Golden State Warriors D-League affiliate team, the Santa Cruz Warriors, held an open tryout on Sunday that drew 68 people who are looking to fulfill their dreams of playing professional basketball this year. One of those people was 76-year-old Don Wiberg, who gladly posted the roughly $100 entry fee for a chance to try his luck against a group of 20-somethings.

“I can’t say that I can run, jump or shoot because I can’t,” Wiberg explained during the tryout. “But for a guy who can’t run, jump or shoot I’m a decent passer and I’ll get in there and mix it up. I’m 76 years old and this is the only thing left on my bucket list — to try out for the Santa Cruz Warriors.”

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When the Warriors hired David Kelly away from the Chicago law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman to be the team’s vice president and general counsel, they weren’t just getting somebody who’s an accomplished attorney; they were also getting somebody who’s an accomplished hip-hop artist.

Kelly, who goes by the name Cap D for his MC’ing, has been making music since the late 80′s. He’s released four records with his group All Natural. The group even got signed to a subsidiary of EMI in 1995, but the label folded before the band could release a record. Taking the solo route, Cap D has released four albums. His latest, entitled “PolyMath,” was named by the Chicago Tribune as the top independent album by a Chicago artist in 2010.

“With this record, I was trying to get at a lot of things,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “Trying to deal with a lot of issues that young, black men deal with like racism and addiction, in all its various forms. But a lot of the album is just playful and personal, too.”

According to Kelly’s bio, he’s also performed around the world. He told WSJ that he plans to release another album, but, ultimately, he considers his music a “glorified hobby.”

It’s a shame Stephen Jackson isn’t still with the Warriors. A Stak5 vs. Cap D rap battle has potential for being an absolutely amazing display.

Here’s one of Cap D’s songs from “PolyMath”:

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Tuesday’s Monta Ellis-Andrew Bogut swap set off a tidal wave of reaction in the NBA world, some positive, some negative. For the remaining Warriors players, it was almost all negative, and some didn’t hesitate voicing their frustrations to the media before their contest with the Kings on Tuesday. As tweeted by beat reporters Marcus Thompson and Rusty Simmons:

The Warriors’ discontent comes from two places. First, with three players being shipped out, the remaining guys lost probably three friends (that’s assuming Kwame Brown is capable of having friends). And as we all learned at the end of summer camp, it’s always hard to say goodbye.

Second, by losing their best player for somebody who likely won’t suit up this season, the Warriors probably feel upset that the team appears willing to keel over and die. And the players have every reason to feel swindled: they are currently an arm’s length out of a playoff spot. The suits in the front office will tell you this deal makes the Warriors better in the long term, but the guys currently on the team don’t care about a franchise’s future.

The Warriors should look on the bright side. The trillest rapper in the NBA is coming to their locker room.

H/T I am a GM
Photo credit: Jeff Hanisch, US Presswire

We have our first NBA trade deadline deal, folks. But don’t get your hopes up. It doesn’t involve Dwight Howard, although it’s still a swap involving big names.

The Warriors agreed Tuesday to trade shooting guard Monta Ellis, forward Ekpe Udoh and injured center Kwame Brown to the Bucks for center Andrew Bogut and forward Stephen Jackson, according to Yahoo! Sports.

And how’s this for irony: The Warriors host the Bucks on Friday.

Ellis, obviously, has previously been linked to trade scenarios sending him to Orlando. But instead he’ll be heading to Milwaukee where he’ll be part of a dynamic backcourt along with Brandon Jennings. Udoh, who can also fill in at center, gives the Bucks a young big man with plenty of upside.

With the Bucks hanging around the fringe of the East’s playoff picture, both players will give the team a serious boost that it wouldn’t have otherwise gotten with Bogut out for possibly the rest of the season. And then there’s Kwame Brown, who despite being Kwame Brown was a prominent role player for the Warriors before tearing a pectoral muscle in January.

Bogut, who has faced injury troubles throughout his career, has missed all but 12 games this season, thanks mostly to a fractured ankle. Golden State also welcomes back Stephen “Stak5” Jackson, who for now returns to the team for which he was a key contributor during its impressive 2007 “We Believe” playoff run. We say “for now” because the Warriors are reportedly shopping Jackson in hopes of getting another big.

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