Ellis' 36 points, last-second basket lift Warriors

It's been bogging his mind for more than a month, but with one shot, Monta Ellis finally cleared his head.

"I wanted that shot," Ellis said. "To be honest with you, a pass wasn't even on my mind. I wanted that shot."

The shot he made Wednesday night with 0.6 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a 110-108 victory over Indiana and erased the memory of the game-winning attempt Ellis missed Dec. 18 at Portland.

With the score tied 108-108 and 18.1 seconds remaining at Oracle Arena on Wednesday, Ellis took the inbounds pass and calmly stared at the Pacers' Brandon Rush in front of him. He did a quick crossover, dribbling just left of the free-throw line and pulled up for a fadeaway jumper that sent 18,185 fans home happy.

"There was no reservation about where I was going to go with the ball," coach Keith Smart said. "Our All-Star made a play. He got to his spot on the floor and made a big play."

Ellis' heroics were necessary only because of a late gaffe by Stephen Curry. The usually cerebral point guard fouled Darren Collison on a layup attempt with 18.1 seconds remaining and the Warriors leading 108-105. Collison made the shot and the ensuing free throw to tie the score.

"You could tell how confident Monta was from the time he got the ball until the time he released it," Curry said. "He bailed me out and got us a big win that we needed."

The Warriors won their third straight game for the second time this season - both in the past 14 games. They're five games under .500 and four games behind Portland for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Ellis finished with 36 points, five rebounds and six assists. It was his 12th 30-point game of the season, including his fourth in the past six games.

Power forward David Lee had 21 points and nine rebounds, and swingman Dorell Wright added 21 points and four steals on a night in which the Warriors' starters got very little help.

Acie Law made a free throw with 28 seconds left in the third quarter for the bench's first point of the night. After looking just about everywhere else "for some pop," Smart finally turned to Brandan Wright.

Wright had six points and four rebounds in 11:35. His offensive rebound with a little more than two minutes left set up a jumper for Ellis that tied the game 105-105. Wright was also a key on forcing turnovers on three of the Pacers' next four possessions.

"I don't know who is going to show up toward the end of our rotation on any given night," Smart said. "Tonight, a guy, who hasn't played in three games, came in there and did just what we needed to get done at that juncture of the game.

"I searched down that Rolodex and found Brandan Wright."

Indiana was led by Danny Granger, who had 32 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Crazy as it sounds, that was nearly a victory for the Warriors. In the two meetings last season, Granger averaged 41.5 points, nine rebounds and 4.5 assists.

E-mail Rusty Simmons at rsimmons@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle