Clippers at Warriors
San Francisco, CA – Anthony Morrow went undrafted in 2008, but his strong play with Golden State’s summer league team earned him an NBA contract.
His shooting touch continues to pay off for him and the Warriors in his second season.
Morrow looks for another strong performance Friday night, when Golden State tries to win its eighth straight at home against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Morrow averaged 14.3 points and
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Warriors -5.5 point spread favorites for Friday’s game against the Clippers. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 60% of more than 159 bets for this game have been placed on the Warriors -5.5.
shot an ACC-best 44.8 percent from 3-point range as a senior at Georgia Tech in 2007-08, but his name was not one of the 60 called on draft night.
"With me coming out, I was a good player, but nobody thought I could excel at this level," Morrow told the Warriors’ official Web site during the preseason.
Morrow helped end any of those doubts during a breakout performance in his first career start. Facing the Clippers on Nov. 15, Morrow hit 15 of 20 shots and scored a career-high 37 points with 11 rebounds in a 121-103 victory at Staples Center.
It marked the highest scoring game by an undrafted player in his rookie season.
"I’ve been in the league 30 years, and I’ve never seen a performance like that from a guy that got his first opportunity to start and play consistent minutes," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "He had the game of a lifetime, and I hope there’s a lot more like that in him."
Nelson and the Warriors (1-2) got another look at Morrow’s shooting abilities in Wednesday’s 113-105 victory over Memphis.
Seeing his first action with less than a minute left in the first quarter, Morrow hit all four attempts from 3-point range and scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half to help Golden State overcome a 13-point deficit.
"He’s definitely one of the best shooters in the game, pure shooters," Warriors forward Stephen Jackson said.
Morrow averaged 19.8 points on 58.5 percent shooting as Golden State won three of four against the Clippers last season, including both matchups at Oracle Arena.
Golden State has won seven straight at home in this series since a 96-93 loss on Jan. 23, 2006.
Los Angeles (1-4) will try to snap that skid after picking up its first win of the season on Monday – 93-90 over Minnesota.
Rasual Butler, who made his first start for the cold-shooting Al Thornton, scored 12, including four free throws in the final 19.4 seconds as the Clippers avoided their second straight 0-5 start.
"It took a lot of resilience and toughness to finish like that in our fifth game in seven days,” Butler said.
Chris Kaman posted his second straight double-double with 25 points and 11 boards, while former Warriors point guard Baron Davis had 13 points and eight assists.
Davis, who averaged 20.1 points and 8.1 assists in three-plus seasons with Golden State, makes his second visit to Oracle Arena since signing a five-year deal with the Clippers last offseason.
He scored 29 points and handed out seven assists in a 127-120 loss in Oakland on March 17, but he missed the 107-92 loss there on Jan. 25 with a bruised tailbone.
After spending the previous eight seasons with the Clippers, Warriors forward Corey Maggette averaged 17.0 points against Los Angeles in 2008-09.
Maggette hit 9 of 17 and scored a season-high 20 on Wednesday when Golden State shot a season-best 54.0 percent from the field.
Posted: 11/5/09 9:35PM ET