Amundson celebrates 28th birthday on court

DALLAS -- Warriors forward Lou Amundson celebrated his 28th birthday by wearing a suit, getting his shoes shined and eating an orange.

Oh, and he made his season debut in Tuesday's 105-100 loss to Dallas. He played 17 minutes, posting four points, a rebound and two blocks.

"It's just good to get that first one out of the way," Amundson said.

He missed the first 20 games of the season after surgery to repair a fractured right index finger. Amundson signed a two-year contract worth $4.6 million this offseason. He missed training camp with a back injury and in his first exhibition game he fractured and dislocated the finger.

His gift to himself, he said weeks ago, would be to return to action on his birthday. And 15 seconds into the second quarter Tuesday, Amundson checked into the game.

He said he was winded and his legs weren't under him yet. He also survived a major test 30 seconds into the fourth quarter. Monta Ellis forced a turnover and fed Amundson streaking up the court. Amundson went up for the two-hand dunk, but with Mavericks guard J.J. Barea running underneath him, he had to hang on the rim to prevent being undercut.

"I'm just happy my finger held up," he said. "It was fine."

Amundson is expected to become a fixture in the rotation. A high-energy player with some size (6-foot-9, 225 pounds), he can play power forward or

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center. That gives coach Keith Smart some flexibility with his rotations.

  • Warriors forward Dorell Wright finished Tuesday's game with 17 points, a season-high tying 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block. It was his third straight double-double. Before this stretch, Wright hadn't managed back-to-back double-doubles ever in his NBA career. Over his last three games, he's averaging 13 points and 10.7 rebounds. Wright, however, is shooting just 34.8 percent over the same span.

  • The Warriors made 6 of 13 free throws, tying their low mark of the season, percentage wise. They were also 6 of 13 (46.2 percent) at the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 31. The Mavericks attempted 27 free throws, making 20. It was the 13th time this season Golden State has taken at least 10 fewer free throws than its opponent.

  • At 9 a.m. today, the Warriors will release 500 tickets for Friday's home game against the Miami Heat, including a limited number of lower level seats.

    -- MARCUS THOMPSON II