OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Monta Ellis returned to the lineup after missing seven games to attend to a family emergency. It was though he never left.
"Monta is a great player and I am not surprised at anything," Warriors forward Stephen Jackson said after scoring 29 points in Golden State's 116-112 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday. "He feels confident he can play against anybody, so when he plays well I'm not surprised."Ellis and center Andris Biedrins bolstered the Warriors with their return to the lineup, and Jamal Crawford scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Warriors, who ended a three-game slide, delivered a blow to the Nets' playoff chances.
Biedrins, who missed the past five games, contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds. Corey Maggette added 18 points.
Devin Harris had 31 points and 12 assists for the Nets, who have lost five of six on the road and missed a chance to move into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Vince Carter and Brook Lopez each scored 14 and Trenton Hassell had 13.
"I don't know the ramifications of it," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "I would hope we're a little more resilient. I think what you do is look at the game and you don't look at predicting the future. It's very, very disappointing."
Crawford scored the Warriors' first seven points of the fourth quarter as they took a 92-89 lead with 9:09 remaining. The game remained in doubt, even after Golden State pulled ahead by 11 in the final three minutes, until Crawford made all six of his foul shots in the final 24 minutes.
"That's not the way we wanted to start the trip off," Harris said. "But hopefully we'll learn from it. It's another one of those close games that we were right there, so we'll take it with a grain of salt and move onto the next one."
The Warriors rallied late in the third quarter, outscoring the Nets 18-6 over the final 6:27 to draw within 87-85 entering the final period.
"This is one that we had in the bag," Carter said. "We felt we were right there, we played well enough to give us a cushion and that third quarter was tough. I'm not going to say we were deflated. We gave ourselves a chance to win and we just couldn't get it done."
The Warriors went on a 13-3 run, sparked by Ronny Turiaf's blocked shot and a 3-pointer from Anthony Morrow, midway through the final quarter to pull away.
The Nets took a 67-53 lead into halftime.
The Warriors outrebounded New Jersey by 16, their largest margin of the season.
Notes: Biedrins recorded his 28th double-double. ... Harris has five double-doubles in his last six games. ... Lopez played in the Bay Area for the first time since leaving Stanford early. Ryan Anderson, a Cal product, did not play in his return. ... Maggette scored his first 16 points from the foul line. ... Warriors G Kelenna Azubuike returned to the lineup after missing three games with a back strain.
