OAKLAND, Calif — If the Golden State Warriors had routinely pulled out wins in ugly contests like they did this one Saturday night, maybe Dave Cowens would still be their coach.
Hours after Cowens was fired and replaced by assistant Brian Winters, the Warriors snapped a four-game losing streak by holding on for a 93-84 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Cowens’ firing came one day after he threw guard Mookie Blaylock out of practice. He accumulated a 25-80 record in one-plus seasons with the team and had 1 1/2 years left on his contract.
On an interim basis, Winters became the team’s seventh coach since 1995, the last year the team made the playoffs. He was 23-102 with the Vancouver Grizzlies before he was fired midway through the 1996-97 season, his second.
The Warriors responded as Antawn Jamison had 20 points and eight rebounds and Danny Fortson added 17 and 15. Golden State, which had lost eight of its last nine games, had all five starters score in double figures.
Golden State led nearly the entire game but had 22 turnovers, shot just 27 percent from the arc and had difficulty putting away the Grizzlies despite entering the fourth quarter with a 78-61 lead.
Memphis rookie Will Solomon scored the first eight points of the period to cut the deficit to 78-69. Fortson hit a pair of free throws with 7:24 left to stop that run and begin a 10-2 burst that was capped by a spectacular alley-oop reverse dunk by rookie Jason Richardson off a feed from Larry Hughes with 4:03 left.
Golden State led by at least eight points thereafter.
Jason Williams scored 18 points and Stromile Swift added 16 and nine rebounds for Memphis, which has lost three in a row and five of six.
