Game 56: Warriors 105 - Sonics 99
February 26th 2008 11:01 pm
Stephen Jackson’s first game back from the ankle injury resulted in a Warriors win. The season record now stands at 2-7 without Jackson and 32-15 with him.
Earlier in the day, Jackson was on the tarmac instructing a jetliner to land. The plane carried the winners of the Stephen Jackson Essay Contest sponsored by the Golden State Warriors and Southwest Airlines. The contest was held in Jackson’s hometown, Port Arthur, Texas. Ten third-grade students won the contest including Jackson’s niece. His mom came along as a chaperone.
Right off the bat, Jackson seemed to force things a bit. He may have tried too hard to impress the kids or Coach Nellie just gave him the green light to get back into his groove. He missed a couple threes and lost the ball a few times dribbling into traffic.
However, Jackson contributed in other facets of the game. He ended up second in the game with seven rebounds to Barnes eight. Jackson also played decent defense and slipped in the veteran move of pulling the chair on Jeff Green when he tried to be too aggressive down in the post. His shot started to fall later in the game and he was rewarded for his aggressive drives into the paint.
Taken by Rocky Widner via Getty Images
The player of game award went to Stephen Jackson’s teammate from his Indiana Pacers’ days, Austin Croshere. Croshere provided the energy the team needed in the 2nd half, sparking the team to play a more aggressive in-your-face style defense and cleaning up the offensive glass for easy buckets. Croshere’s hustle and the return of the high percentage shooting of Monta Ellis were the reasons the Warriors were able to put away the Sonics late in the game.
Stephen Jackson’s Line:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
| 17 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| FG | FG% | 3PT | 3PT% | FT | FT% |
| 6-18 | .333 | 1-3 | .333 | 4-4 | 1.000 |