For every positive stride the Warriors have taken this season—and there haven't been all that many—a greater move in the opposite direction almost always has soon followed.

Monday was no exception.

When Corey Maggette entered the game at Utah with 3:02 remaining in the first quarter, the official countdown began toward Monta Ellis' season debut. After all, Ellis, who underwent ankle surgery in August, at that point became the only Warrior out of the lineup because of an injury.

For a team that has had multiple guys injured on most nights, playing without just one player was a cause for celebration. And soon—perhaps within the next two weeks—Ellis would return to give Don Nelson the full crew he has envisioned ever since Jamal Crawford was...

Paul Millsap is helping the Utah Jazz get by without Carlos Boozer. Millsap scored 19 points and had 14 rebounds to lead the Jazz to a 119-114 victory over the Warriors on Monday night. It was his 18th consecutive double-double in place of Boozer, who has missed 23 straight games since injuring his left knee on Nov.

With the biggest collapse in a franchise history full of them still fresh in their minds, the Minnesota Timberwolves finally figured out how to close a game. Three days after surrendering a 29-point lead in the final 22 minutes of a loss to Dallas, Al Jefferson had 32 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves to a 115-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.

Scott Brooks figured his Oklahoma City Thunder team had been in enough close games in the fourth quarter to eventually win one. Their time came Wednesday night. The Thunder pulled away in the third quarter and held on for a 107-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors. It was only the fourth win of the season for Oklahoma City, which snapped a five-game losing streak.

Marco Belinelli, C.J. Watson and the Golden State Warriors returned home just long enough to pick up a change of clothes, a victory over Toronto and two new nicknames. Stephen Jackson scored 30 points, Belinelli added 23 and the Warriors held off the road-weary Raptors on Monday night. Their 117-111 victory wasn't safe until the whisper-thin Watson floated into the lane and hit a clutch jumper over...

Kobe Bryant explained why the Celtics had a letdown and the Lakers didn't following the rivals' intense game several days earlier. "They had won 19 straight games, so they were due for a couple of bad ones," Bryant said Sunday night after scoring 31 points in Los Angeles' 130-113 romp over the Golden State Warriors.

The defending champions were drained -- and coach Doc Rivers suspected it might happen. The end of a 19-game winning streak can do that. Stephen Jackson returned to the lineup and scored eight straight points during the decisive fourth-quarter stretch to finish with 28, and the Golden State Warriors sent Boston to back-to-back losses for the first time this season by rallying past the Celtics 99-89...

Unless the Miami Heat go on a 55-game losing streak, they're officially better than last season. Dwyane Wade had 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Daequan Cook scored 15 of his 20 points to spark a second-quarter comeback, and the Heat matched last season's win total by beating the injury-depleted Golden State Warriors 96-88 on Tuesday night.