Morning Hardwood: Run G-Dubs Run

Still suffering from whiplash ...

Smaller Ball. Is Don Nelson Jewish? I'm kidding, I'm kidding. The crafty Warriors' coach introduced a small-ball starting line-up for the ages (B-Diddy, Monta, J-Rich, Jax and Al Harrington at center) and ran the Suns into the ground. Like, big time. The Warriors jumped out to an 18-6 start three minutes into the game, had 32 points by the six minute mark, and finished the first quarter up 45-33. That's hot. Jason Richardson scored a season-high 36 points and hit a franchise-record eight 3-pointers. Golden State now moves within one game of the Clips for the Western Conference's final playoff spot. Can you feel the drama?

Kick 'Em When They're Down. Captain Kirk Hinrich hit two of his three free-throw attempts with 2.8 seconds left to give the Bulls an 83-81 victory over the Pistons Thursday night. The Bulls, who somehow managed to blow a 12-point fourth quarter lead, held on to clinch their third straight playoff appearance. Not that they can be too happy about the win. Detroit played without the services of two of their starters -- Rip Hamilton and Chris Webber -- who missed the game because of infectious diseases. Drink that OJ, boys. Ben Gordon led the way with 25 points.

Mystery Man. Despite 43 points and 17 rebounds from Zach Randolph, the Grizzle beat the Just Blazers 96-92 thanks to about ten thousand free-throws. Memphis rookie Tarence Kinsey led the way with 20 points. Good. Now who in the hell is this guy!?!? And oh, before the game, Portland promoted Kevin Pritchard to its vacant general manager job.

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