Dorell Wright scores 32 in Warriors' loss to Hawks

(12-30) 04:00 PST ATLANTA - --

Before Wednesday night's game an NBA scout said Monta Ellis' play has been "remarkable, especially considering he is being asked to score all of the points, defend opponents' best players and drive the team bus."

A couple of hours later, the Warriors' guard decided to hand the keys to Dorell Wright for a while.

On a night when Ellis finally showed some wear, Wright's career scoring effort kept the Warriors in a 103-93 loss against Atlanta in front of a sparse and generally uninterested crowd of 15,925 at Philips Arena.

Wright had 32 points and 11 rebounds, the first time in his career he has had back-to-back 20-plus-point efforts. He scored 28 in Monday's win over the 76ers.

Wright's effort helped keep the Warriors within six points with eight minutes to go and eight points with two minutes left. The Hawks' athletic big men were too good, however. Josh Smith had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Al Horford went for 21 points and 15 boards to end the Warriors' three-game winning streak.

"Those guys jump all over the place," Wright said.

"You see it on TV," coach Keith Smart said. "They play at a high level. They're battle-tested big guys who have been through the wars, and we just didn't have enough big guys to match them."

The Warriors are still without big men Andris Biedrins (ankle) and Dan Gadzuric (groin), but the story was playing with Ellis and point guard Stephen Curry at less than 100 percent. Ellis was 4-for-13 for 12 points, two games after spraining his ankle. Curry, who was dealing with illness and his own ankle sprain, was 4-for-13 for nine points and had 12 assists.

"We don't want to have to jump on (Ellis') back every night, make him play 48 minutes and make him do everything he has been doing," Curry said. "He's such a great talent that he's going to get his points and put pressure on defenses, but, on nights when his shot isn't falling, we've got to pitch in."

Ellis spent the night chasing All-Star Joe Johnson, who needed 14 shots to score 16 points. The Warriors' guard went 14 minutes, spanning the second and third quarters, without attempting a field goal.

"We've tried to get carried on Superman's back for as long as we can, and some nights he's just not going to have it," Smart said.

So the Warriors turned to Wright, who played all 48 minutes and showed a complete dribble-drive game for the first time this season. He used a pump fake to get to the basket until his three-pointers started to fall.

"I'm trying to change everything, because I don't want to be known as just a spot-up shooter," Wright said.

"If (Wright) would have played a little bit better, we might have had a chance," Curry joked. "I'm sure he'll be hitting himself in the head on the flight and really try to come back strong Friday."

Forward returns: Power forward Brandan Wright played for the first time in 20 games, scoring two points and going without a rebound in 3:36. He has been available to Smart for the past three games after returning from a lower back strain. "He was OK for his first action in a long, long time," Smart said. "As the road trip continues, he'll probably get a little more time."

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

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