This was probably a game the Warriors would have lost without Ellis' play in the opening 47 minutes. He had 28 points, three assists, three steals and countless hustle plays. While the Warriors were blowing most of their 20-point lead, Ellis was the only one consistently getting back in transition. On back-to-back Toronto breaks, he single-handedly made stops (a steal and a block).
"That's what the good players do, and he's proving himself to be as good as he said he wanted to become," coach Keith Smart said. "He's proving it in the way he's approaching the game, the way he's competing and the way he's playing.
"He bailed us out of a lot of tough plays, and that's what the good players in our league do."