Warriors Vs. Hornets 2/26/2021

The Hornets came into this game after a close win over the Suns. The Warriors were coming off of 2 straight wins and were looking for their 3rd straight win in this game. This game was the first game that the number 2 and number 3 overall picks to play against each other because the first time that the Hornets and Warriors’ played James Wiseman was injured. Kevon Looney didn’t play in the for the Warriors in their first matchup against the Hornets this season because he was injured. This was also the first time that Stephen Curry would be playing against his hometown team this season since he was feeling sick before the game in the Hornets and Warriors’ first matchup. This was also a chance for Draymond Green to somewhat make up for his ejection which led to the Warriors loss in their game against the Hornets earlier this season. Kelly Oubre Jr. had had an amazing February entering this game and hoped to keep playing well in this game. Terry Rozier lll had in amazing game the first time these 2 teams played earlier in the season with 36 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. The Hornets were missing 2 starters in Devonte Graham and Cody Zeller in this game so that gave the Warriors a slight advantage. For the Hornets to win they needed to defend Stephen Curry well, make sure to keep down on turnovers, and Terry Rozier lll likely needed to have a nice game. For the Warriors to win they likely needed Stephen Curry to have a nice game, defend Terry Rozier lll very well, and force a bunch of turnovers. Would Stephen Curry lead the Warriors to a win against his hometown team or would Terry Rozier lll have another amazing game against the Warriors and lead the Hornets to the win? To the game!

Kevon Looney won the tip for the Warriors which led to a Kelly Oubre Jr. corner 3 after defensive stops from each team. At 10:44 LaMelo Ball made a putback layup to give the Hornets their first points of the game. At 10:12 Terry Rozier lll made a fadeaway jumper to give the Hornets the lead. Kelly Oubre Jr. followed that up with a a dunk to give the Warriors the lead. Then at 9:43 Draymond Green got a flagrant foul which led to a couple of P.J. Washington Jr. made free throws to give the Hornets the lead once again. At 8:45 LaMelo Ball made a layup to give the Hornets a 5 point lead. At 8:04 Stephen Curry retook the lead for the Warriors with a nice layup. At 5:16 Draymond Green made a floater to give the Warriors a 5 point lead. Then at 1:12 Draymond made a finger roll to give the Warriors a 10 point lead. To end the quarter Miles Bridges made 2 free throws to make it an 8 point game. At the end of the first quarter the Warriors were leading 36-28. The Warriors played extremely well offensively led by Kelly Oubre Jr. with 15 points, a rebound, an assist, and a steal and Draymond Green with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and a steal. LaMelo Ball was leading the Hornets with 10 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist. The Warriors played very well in the first quarter with 11 more assists, 6 more rebounds, 2 more turnovers, and 3 more fouls than the Hornets. The Warriors and Hornets also had an equal amount of steals as each other and neither team had a block. The Warriors were also shooting very well because a ton of their shots were dunks in the first quarter. The Warriors were shooting 77.3% from the field and 33.3% from deep. The Warriors also didn’t shoot a free throw in the first quarter. The Hornets didn’t shoot as well as the Warriors with 40% from the field, 50% from 3, and 66.7% from the free throw line. The Warriors played well in the first quarter and hoped to carry that momentum into the 2nd quarter. The Hornets hoped retake the lead by halftime and make this a much closer game.

To start the 2nd quarter Jalen McDaniels made a layup to cut it to a 6 point deficit. At 10:45 Rozier lll made a 3 to make it a 3 point game for the Hornets. At 10:22 James Wiseman made a dunk to give the Warriors a 5 point lead and their first points of the quarter. At 8:04 Malik Monk made a 3 to give the Hornets the lead. The Warriors then called a timeout and coming out of the timeout got called for a 5 second violation while trying to inbound the ball. Then at 4:21 Damion Lee made a 3 from top of the key which gave the Warriors the lead back. At the 3 minute mark Stephen Curry made a 3 to give the Warriors a nice 5 point lead. At 1:50 LaMelo Ball got a technical foul and Stephen Curry made the technical free throw. Also at 1:50 Kevon Looney made 2 free throws to give the Warriors a 10 point lead. With 5.5 seconds left in the half Stephen Curry made a 3 to give the Warriors a 13 point lead. Then with 4.7 seconds left in the half Damion Lee stole the inbound off of a bad pass from LaMelo Ball. With 3.1 seconds left in the half LaMelo fouled Damion Lee which gave him 2 free throws. Lee made both free throws to give the Warriors a 15 point lead which was their largest of the entire first half. At halftime the Warriors were leading 66-51. The Warriors played very well as a team and in general in the first half with 10 more assists, 2 more rebounds, 4 more steals, 1 more block, 1 fewer turnover, and 2 fewer fouls than the Hornets at halftime. The Warriors also shot extremely well with 59.1% from the field and 42.9% from 3. The Hornets on the other hand did not fare as well as the Warriors on the shooting side of things with 37.8% from the field and 38.9% from downtown. Kelly Oubre Jr. played very well for the Warriors in the first half with 17 points, 4 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Draymond Green also played very well with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, a steal, and a block. LaMelo Ball played well for the Hornets in the first half with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. Malik Monk was also playing well with 13 points and 2 rebounds. This was a great first half for the Warriors who hoped to carry their momentum into the 3rd quarter and make it a 20-25 point game by the 4th quarter. The Hornets hoped to make it a close game entering the 4th quarter. To the third!

To start the 3rd quarter P.J. Washington Jr. made a 3 to make it a 12 point game. The next play Stephen Curry made a finger roll to give the Warriors a 14 point lead and their first points of the quarter. At 9:32 P.J. Washington Jr. made a 3 to make it a 10 point game for the Hornets. At 9:15 Andrew Wiggins got a dunk a to make it a 12 point game. Then at 9:07 Gordon Hayward made a 3 to make it a 9 point game for the Hornets. At 7:40 Oubre Jr. made a layup to help the Warriors retake an 11 point lead. At 6:42 Rozier lll made a layup to cut the Warrior lead to 9 points. At 6:12 Andrew Wiggins made a corner 3 to give the Warriors a 10 point lead. Then at 3:47 Gordon Hayward made a 3 to make it a 9 point game for the Hornets. At 3:37 Stephen Curry made 3 free throws to give the Warriors a 12 point lead. At 2:25 James Wiseman slammed in an alley oop from Draymond Green. On that play Draymond got his 17th assist of the game which was a new career high. At 1:49 Stephen Curry made a 3 to give the Warriors a 15 point lead. With 27.6 seconds left in the quarter Draymond got his 10th rebound to give him his 25th triple double of his career and his 1st of the season. With 23.9 seconds left in the quarter James Wiseman made a couple of free throws for the final points of the quarter. At the end of the 3rd quarter the Warriors were leading 103-84. At the end of the third quarter the Warriors were being led by Stephen Curry with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, and a steal and Draymond Green with a triple double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists, a steal, and a block. The Hornets were being led by LaMelo Ball with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists and Malik Monk with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist. After the 3rd quarter the Warriors had 9 more assists, 3 more steals, 2 more blocks, 3 fewer turnovers, and 5 fewer fouls than the Hornets. The Warriors and Hornets each had 28 rebounds. The Warriors were still shooting amazingly after the third quarter with 62.9% from the field and 42.1% from 3. The Hornets weren’t shooting as well as the Warriors but were still shooting well with 44.1% from the field and 43.3% from downtown. In the 4th quarter the Warriors hoped to easily close out the game and get their first 3 game win streak. In the 4th quarter the Hornets hoped to somehow pull off a 19 point comeback in 1 quarter and get the win.

To start the 4th quarter Malik Monk made a layup to make it a 17 point game for the Hornets. At 10:40 Brad Wanamaker made a layup to give the Warriors their first points of the quarter. At the 7 minute mark Rozier lll made a layup to cut it to a 14 point game. At 6:17 Oubre Jr. made a 3 to give the Warriors a 17 point lead. At 3:50 and 3:27 Rozier lll made 2 threes to make it a 12 point game for the Hornets. Then at 2:50 Rozier lll made a layup to cut it to a 10 point deficit for the Hornets. The next play at 2:35 Oubre Jr. made a 3 to make it a 13 point game. At 1:50 Kent Bazemore made a layup to give the Warriors a 15 point lead. At 1:44 LaMelo Ball made a layup to make it a 13 point game once again. At 1:28 Rozier lll made a couple of free throws to make it an 11 point game for the Hornets. With 29.1 seconds left in the game Rozier lll made a layup to make it a 9 point game. The rest of the game consisted of a bunch of free throws and a 3 and the Warriors ended up winning 130-121.

Leo’s Courtside Commentary: The Warriors played amazingly in the first 3 quarters but the 4th quarter wasn’t their best quarter losing it 37-27. Stephen Curry played well for the Warriors with 29 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, and a steal. Kelly Oubre Jr. played well too with 27 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Draymond Green also played amazingly with a triple double of 11 points, 12 rebounds, a career high 19 assists, a steal, and a block. As a team the Warriors ended with 7 of their 11 players who played having 10 points or more. LaMelo Ball played well for the Hornets with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal. Terry Rozier lll and Malik Monk played well too with 24 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal and 25 points, 5 rebounds, and an assist respectively. The Warriors ended with 11 more assists, 1 fewer rebound, 1 fewer steal, 2 more blocks, 3 more turnovers, 11 fewer points off turnovers, and 4 fewer fouls than the Hornets. The Warriors also ended with great shooting splits of 60.8% from the field, 45.8% from downtown, and 92% from the free throw line. The Hornets didn’t shoot as well as the Warriors but still shot well with 46.1% from the field, 41.5% from 3, and 68.8% from the free throw line. This win gave the Warriors their first 3 game win streak of the season and the Warriors still haven’t had a 3 game losing streak up to this point. The Warriors passed the ball extremely well in this game which was essential to their win. In this game Draymond Green was definitely able to somewhat make up for his outburst that lost the Warriors the game to the Hornets in these 2 teams last matchup. Overall, this was a great win for the Warriors and a win that helped them get their first 3 game win streak of the season.