Ellis and Maggette top 30 points as Warriors use big fourth quarter to beat Bulls 114-97

Warriors snap 3-game skid by beating Bulls 114-97

OAKLAND, Calif. — Monta Ellis had 36 points, eight assists and five rebounds, Corey Maggette added 32 points, six rebounds and five assists and the short-handed Golden State Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak with a 114-97 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Stephen Curry had 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Andris Biedrins grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds to go with a career-best eight blocked shots as Golden State ended Chicago’s four-game winning streak.

The Bulls couldn’t overcome their sluggish start and failed to wear down the banged-up Warriors.

John Salmons scored 25 points and Luol Deng 20 for cold-shooting Chicago, which kicked off its seven-game road trip without starting guard Kirk Hinrich because of the flu. The Bulls were held to 36.5 percent from the floor.

Golden State dressed only eight players for the second straight game because of injuries. The Warriors were down to four players late in a 113-104 loss to Milwaukee on Friday night.

Maggette had his third 30-point game in his last four outings and fifth overall.

Curry hit a 3-pointer with 1:23 left in the third quarter and Ellis followed with a basket in transition, giving Golden State some momentum heading into the final 12 minutes. After that, the Warriors quickly began pulling away.

Golden State signed forward and D-League call-up Anthony Tolliver to a 10-day contract on an injury exemption Saturday to give coach Don Nelson a little more depth — and Tolliver came out to start the second quarter.

As luck would have it, he went down.

Tolliver had six points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes before going out with 10:37 left after bruising his left knee in a hard fall.

“This is new territory for me,” Nelson said. “We’ve got a bench of three D-Leaguers.”

Somehow, the Warriors hung tough in this one.

They got down to four players Friday after Curry was whistled for his sixth foul with 4 seconds left. Curry was allowed to return but Golden State was charged with a technical because of the shortage.

“It’s crazy,” said forward Ronny Turiaf, sidelined with an ankle injury. “It’s just freak stuff, guys getting poked in the eye. We’ve just got to ride through it and put ourselves in position to be healthy again.”

The Warriors, playing a rare matinee game in front of a nearly full house despite miserable, wet weather outside, could use a boost with two games remaining on their season-long seven-game homestand.

Golden State also snapped a four-game losing streak to the Bulls, who had won the last two at Oracle Arena. Chicago held on for a 96-91 overtime victory at home on Dec. 11.

Biedrins’ big day on the boards helped the Warriors to a 57-53 rebounding advantage. The Bulls had outrebounded their opponents in eight of previous 10 games and led the NBA coming in with a 45.4 rebounding average per game.

The Warriors got off to a nice start by hitting nine of their first 14 shots for a 25-14 lead late in the opening quarter. But Golden State let the Bulls back in it in the second period and held a 54-53 halftime lead.

NOTES: The Warriors held a book drive at Oracle among special activities for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. … The Bulls are 1-5 on the road vs. Western Conference teams. … Golden State, along with the Oakland Black Firefighters Association, will collect donations during Wednesday’s and Friday’s home games for the Haitian earthquake relief efforts. Fans can donate in firefighter boots at the entrances to the arena and at various places inside.