Stephen Curry had another brilliant game in his hometown, tossing in 23 points to pace the short-handed Warriors to a 115-97 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday at Spectrum Center.
Andrew Wiggins stayed hot with 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Trayce Jackson-Davis added 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
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The victory was the Warriors’ first in Charlotte since Feb. 25, 2019, and improved Golden State to 3-1 on this five-game road trip.
More importantly, the Warriors (39-34) maintained their grip on the final NBA play-in position in the Western Conference with their win over the Hornets (18-55). The NBA’s hottest team, the Houston Rockets, entered the day trailing the Dubs by one game.
Like they did two days earlier when Draymond Green was ejected less than four minutes into the game, the Warriors won this one missing key players.
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Klay Thompson sat out with right knee tendinitis while Jonathan Kuminga missed his second consecutive game with left knee tendinitis. Chris Paul got the start in place of Thompson and had 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Green, back in the mix after getting kicked out of the Orlando game on Wednesday, kept his cool and had eight points and eight rebounds.
Jackson-Davis helped the Warriors get off to a good start, notching six points, two rebounds and a block in the first quarter. Curry later made buzzer-beating 3-pointer to put the Warriors up 50-45 at halftime.
Curry stayed sharp in the third quarter as Golden State extended its lead to 89-71.
Here are the takeaways from Friday’s game:
Defensive Doings
It took a while for the offense to click, but fortunately for the Warriors, their defense remained the tight, secure unit it has been on this road trip.
Golden State started showing it early when it allowed just 17 points in the first quarter and held Charlotte to 38.5-percent (15-of-39) shooting in the first half.
This was the third consecutive game and eighth time overall during the 2023-24 NBA season that the Warriors have allowed fewer than 100 points. They are a perfect 8-0 in those games.
Hornets rookie Brandon Miller was kept quiet most of the game, scoring 12 points – five fewer than his average. Miller was just 5-of-15 shooting.
Picking Up The Scoring Slack
Thompson and Kuminga have been two of the Warriors’ most consistent scorers lately, and with both men on the bench with knee injuries, someone needed to pick up the slack.
It took a team-wide effort to make up for the 34 points that Thompson and Kuminga were averaging combined. Curry and Wiggins did their part to keep the starting unit rolling. Curry is Curry and Wiggins has been playing some of his basketball of the 2023-24 season, so that was a good sign.
Jackson-Davis also helped with his most productive game in more than a week, shooting 9 of 13 and finishing plus-11.
Golden State also got nice efforts off the bench from Moses Moody (15 points) and Kevon Looney (eight points).
Turnover Troubles Turnaround
One of Golden State’s most troubling issues against the Hornets was its unforced errors. The Warriors committed 12 turnovers, eight of them in the first half.
Surprisingly, one of the biggest offenders was Chris Paul. CP3 threw the ball away four times, three coming in the first half alone when he tried to force the ball inside or attempted to push it up the floor.
The turnovers, which led to 18 points, were the the primary reason the Hornets were able to stick close in the first half.
Everything turned around in the second half when the Warriors did a much better job of taking care of the ball. As a result, they were able to score pretty much at will, pouring in 65 points over the final two quarters.
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