Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors, after losing to the Rockets at Oracle Arena, and not playing well Saturday night, got back on track as they subdued the Hornets 121-110 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. Monday night. Steph Curry returned to his hometown and was hoping to continue to play well in front of his family and friends. The Hornets, with a record of 28-31, are in first place in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference.

The Warriors needed the win to stay in first place in the Western Conference and have home court advantage during the Conference playoffs. They have a way to go as the Milwaukee Bucks, and Toronto Raptors have a better record right now, and either team would have homecourt advantage in the NBA Finals. The Warriors went out and won every quarter and, at times, looked like the Warriors of old. At other times in the game, they made turnovers, committed too many fouls, and looked out of sync.

The Warriors won the first quarter 34-30 behind Kevin Durant’s 13 points and Klay Thompson’s 10. The Warriors won the second quarter by the same score to finish with an 8-point lead at the end of the first half. They led by 62-48 before Charlotte went on a 12-3 run to close the trail by 65-60 near the end of the half. The Warriors increased the lead to 8 when Draymond Green made a deuce and a free throw to end the first 24 minutes of play.

The Warriors, who usually dominate the third quarter, played well early in the period. They led 85-73 when Charlotte went an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to four. The Warriors regrouped and finished the period leading 98-88. They committed too many turnovers as they were sloppy handling the ball.

The Warriors had a chance to blow open the game in the fourth quarter. Behind the offensive output of Klay Thompson, and DeMarcus Cousins, the W’s increased the lead to 115-98. It was at this point that Charlotte went on a 10-0 run to get within seven. The Warriors then played defense as Steph Curry made a huge steal and had a 3-on-1 at the other end of the court. Curry fed the ball to Thompson, and he made the layup to give the Warriors the advantage 117-108. The Hornets made a bucket, but Steph finished the scoring as he hit a 3-pointer to give the Warriors the win 121-110.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors improve to 43-17. The Hornets drop to 28-32.

The Warriors had all five starters in double figures. DeMarcus Cousins had a season-high 24 points and was second to Klay Thompson, who had 26. The big man also had 11 boards and 3 assists. It was his best game as a Warrior since his return from the Achilles tendon injury. Cousins still doesn’t have a lot of lateral movement, and he was torched by the Hornets’ Cody Zeller. Zeller had a career-high 28 points and missed just one shot in 14 tries. Kevin Durant had 20, and Steph Curry finished with 16. Draymond Green almost had a triple-double. Green, who injured his ankle against the Rockets last Saturday, was listed as probable. Green knocked down 14 points, corralled 8 boards, and dished out 10 assists.

The stats show the Warriors shot over 50% from the floor and made 14 threes. The reason the game was close was due to turnovers and fouls. The Warriors turned the ball over 15 times, and the Hornets were able to put 18 points on the board as a result. The Warriors were 11-for 13 from the charity stripe while the Hornets were 23-for 26. Those two giveaways added up to 30 points, and the game was closer than it should have been.

Up Next: The Warriors face the Heat in Miami Wednesday night. Game time is at 4:30 pm. On Thursday, they play the Magic in Orlando. Game time there is at 4:00 pm