But Ellis' impact on the game, on the Warriors, was without question. In his first game back since offseason ankle surgery, Ellis packed a punch that was much heavier than his 20 points in 34 minutes suggested.

It wasn't enough to prevent another heartbreak, as the Warriors' lost their second consecutive game in devastating fashion, 106-105 to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena on Friday. All-NBA forward LeBron James nailed a step-back, 19 footer over Warriors' center Ronny Turiaf as the horn sounded.

James' dagger comes one game after Oklahoma City's Jeff Green banked in a 16-foot buzzer-beating game-winner.

"He made a tough shot," said swingman Stephen Jackson, whose 22-footer over James put the Warriors ahead 105-104 with 6.4 seconds left. "Ronny played great D. That's all you can ask for at the end of the game. He just made a tough shot and you can't do anything about that."

Still, the return of Ellis, and the promise he oozes, was enough to numb the pain in the Warriors' locker room. Clearly not at 100 percent, Ellis was still a significant factor in the Warriors' near upset. He gave the 19,596 fans reason to believe he will be the superstar they remember.

In the first half, he nailed three of those falling-down fade-aways in the lane, getting a three-point play on one. His 3-point heave at the buzzer to end the third quarter splashed the net and pulled the Warriors to within three, 84-81, entering the fourth.

Ellis' biggest moment came midway through the fourth quarter when he lifted Oracle Arena a couple of decibels with what was clearly his highlight of the night. Dribbling on the right side of the court, Ellis passed the ball to Jackson and lost James with a sharp cut to the basket. Jackson slipped a bounce pass to the cutting Ellis, and Ellis zipped through the lane for a high-rising one-hand dunk.

"He's an exciting person to watch," said Warriors guard Anthony Morrow, who started in place of injured guard Jamal Crawford and finished with 19 points and three rebounds. "He's been doing really well in practice, so I'm glad he got a chance to play. It's a blessing to come back from an injury like that and still be the Monta Ellis everybody knows."

That basket gave the Warriors their first lead of the fourth quarter, 91-90, with 6:53 remaining. And Ellis wasn't done leaving his print on the game.

After a lefty hook in the lane by James gave the Cavaliers a 96-95 advantage, Ellis converted a fast-break layup that put the Warriors on top with 1:51 remaining. Later, he nailed a pair of clutch free throws to tie the game 99-99.

The Warriors, who seemed to make all the right plays on offense, kept hurting their own cause with defensive lapses. They left Cleveland guards Daniel Gibson and Mo Williams all alone, and they both nailed critical 3-pointers. Williams' 3, the Cavaliers' 10th of the game, came with 51.2 seconds left and put the Warriors' down 102-101.

After the big shot by Jackson who had 24 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two blocks with five turnovers Ellis nearly sealed the Warriors' victory by stealing an inbounds pass. Instead, he deflected the ball out of bounds. On the Cavaliers' reset, a miscommunication left Turiaf matched up alone on the perimeter with arguably the hardest player in the league to defend.

"There was an error on that play," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "We had a couple breakdowns at the end. But other than that, we were very good."

And that, largely, was because Ellis was back.

Contact Marcus Thompson II at mthomps2@bayareanewsgroup.com.CavS 106, Warriors 105next game: Sunday, vs. Clippers, 6 p.m.Monta's returnPoints 20Rebounds 3Assists 3Steals 1Turnovers 1Minutes 34:05 HIGHLIGHT: Monta Ellis was 8-for-19 shooting in starting at guard in his season debut for the Warriors.