Jackson's auspicious return | From SF Gate: News and Information for the San Francisco Bay Area

By Janny Hu, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, November 19, 2007

Stephen Jackson figured that his biggest thrills Sunday would come from the mundane, from getting his ankles taped, suiting up and running through the tunnel for his first game of the season.

As it turned out, the reverse junket was just as good.

Jackson walked off the court as a winner after the Warriors dispatched the Raptors 106-100, and he found a postgame locker-room vibe that was as unfamiliar to him as it nearly was to his teammates.

The last team in the league to get into the win column this season suddenly has itself a two-game winning streak.

"Yeah, what a roll, huh?" coach Don Nelson deadpanned.

Any win qualifies as an achievement for the Warriors these days after losing six straight to start the season, all without a suspended Jackson in the lineup. So in his season debut, Jackson gave the Warriors a boost where they needed it most.

Golden State's defense had been bleeding points, giving up more than 118 per game entering Sunday's matinee, and it looked as if Toronto was going to reach that average with T.J. Ford dicing up the defense for an 88-80 Raptors lead entering the fourth quarter.

Then something out of the ordinary happened. The Warriors, with Jackson on All-Star Chris Bosh and everyone else staying with the Raptors' three-point shooters, turned up their defensive intensity and shut down Toronto.

The Raptors missed nine of 10 three-point tries down the stretch, and, in another strange twist, also missed five of their final six free-throw attempts after making 14 straight to open the game. Ford took only two shots in the final period, clanking both, and finished with 29 points and nine assists.

"If he gets 30, we'll live with it," said Jackson, who led the Warriors with 17 points, five assists and two blocks. "He can get to the paint on almost anybody, so we just wanted to make it difficult for him and take everybody else out of the game."

That included Bosh, who spent most of the day clanking jumpers or losing the ball against Jackson's stifling defense. Bosh committed six turnovers - five in the third quarter - and had only three points in the fourth period. He shot 4-for-12 from the field and finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

"This is what we have to get better at, finishing the fourth quarter," Jackson said.

"We just bore down at the end of the game and got some stops, hit some shots," Baron Davis added.

Jackson's return also reset the offense and had the Warriors' looking a lot like last season's playoff team. He initiated much of the attack, allowing Davis to post up, and hitting teammates in the lane for easy baskets.

Davis finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Andris Biedrins had another fine game with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Sunday also marked the return of forward Mickael Pietrus and the all-purpose return of Croshere, who logged less than a minute against the Clippers on Friday night.

Croshere, playing both power forward and center, was essential to the late rally with five points, five rebounds and a steal in the final period. His three-pointer with 3:51 left finally gave the Warriors a 96-94 lead they did not relinquish.

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