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Nelson and Davis lead Warriors to great start

It didn`t take the Golden State Warriors long to find their new winning form under new coach Don Nelson. Nelly, who returned to the Bay Area after recently coaching the Dallas Mavericks, has led the team to a 6-3 record in the first nine games of the season. One player especially is excelling under the new coach. Point guard Baron Davis scored 36 points and handed out a career-high 18 assists in a 117-108 victory against the Sacramento Kings.

Kobe Bryant has had a slower start than the hot Warriors, but has also set a record over the weekend. In the Lakers victory over the Toronto Raptors, Bryant scored 31 points, a season high, although 50 points less than his 81 point game last year against the same team. Bryant, however, crossed the 17,000 career points total and has become the youngest player to have done so. He added 11 rebounds and 7 assists and said he is back to feeling good, following an off-season operation.

Meanwhile, Bryant`s former team-mate and current defending champion, Shaquille O`Neal, will undergo an operation on his knee and will miss 4-6 weeks. The Miami Heat, playing without Shaq, has added another blow-out home loss this weekend. This time it was the New York Knicks who came to town and won 100-76.