Warriors-Hornets Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Jan 19 2013 2:02AM

The Golden State Warriors are hoping to have Stephen Curry back as they try to avoid falling further back in the Pacific Division race.

The New Orleans Hornets still own one of the worst records in the Western Conference, so coach Monty Williams isn't celebrating their recent success.

With Curry's status unclear, the Warriors will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season in a matchup with the resurgent Hornets on Saturday night.

Golden State (23-15) has lost five of six since a win over the division-leading Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 2 pulled them within 2 1/2 games in the Pacific. The Warriors followed that up three days later by falling 115-89 to the Clippers, and the gap has widened to seven games since.

They host the Clippers again Monday, but could use some momentum after their losing streak reached three with Friday's 95-88 defeat at San Antonio.

"I'm disappointed in the loss, but at the same time I really like the way my team got after it," coach Mark Jackson said.

Possibly having Curry back may please Jackson further. The star guard, who leads the team with 20.5 points per game and 6.6 assists, was averaging 25.0 points over his past three games before spraining an ankle in a shootaround Wednesday.

That's forced Curry to miss the last two games, and Golden State is 10-32 without him over the last two seasons.

If Curry is sidelined again, the Warriors will need another strong game from David Lee, who has 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds Friday. Lee is second on the team with 19.8 points per game and ranks among the league leaders with 10.8 rebounds.

He's averaging 26.3 points over his past three meetings with the Hornets (13-26). Lee hit that average while Curry had 13 points in a 103-96 victory on Dec. 18, the Warriors' second straight in New Orleans.

Another road win in the series won't come easy with the Hornets having won six of seven following a 2-14 stretch.

"If you look at our record, we're in no position to laud or get happy about a couple of wins," coach Monty Williams said. "We've got a lot of work to do."

New Orleans, though, continued its impressive play with a 90-78 win at Boston on Wednesday despite going 2 for 17 from 3-point range.

Ryan Anderson's struggles continued as he was limited to 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting in the win. He leads the Hornets with 16.6 points per game, but he's averaged only 9.2 on 31.5 percent from the floor - 7 for 30 from beyond the arc - over the past five games.

He had 28 points against Golden State last month, but shot 8 of 22 overall and missed 10 of 14 from 3-point range.

Al-Farouq Aminu played just 3 minutes off the bench in that meeting, failing to take a shot. The forward has been key as a starter over the past seven games, averaging 7.9 points and 10.6 rebounds after scoring a season-high 18 while pulling down nine boards against the Celtics.

Thompson has season-high 29, Warriors beat Hornets

Posted Jan 20 2013 12:38AM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Jarrett Jack denied having any extra incentive in his return to New Orleans, though he sure played down the stretch like he did.

Traded from the Hornets to the Warriors last July to clear cap space, he tied a career high with 12 assists and scored seven of his 25 points in the final minute. Klay Thompson added a season-high 29 points, and Golden State beat New Orleans 116-112 on Saturday night.

"People tend to say that you play with a chip on our shoulder when you play against your old team," Jack said. "I play with a chip on my shoulder all the time. Nothing has ever been given to me in this league. Every night I try to go out and prove myself no matter if I am playing against the Hornets, the Lakers or the Bobcats."

Then again, he did notice one difference.

"When I was on the way here my Ipod played, even though I had it on a shuffle, a James Brown song, `The Big Payback,"' he said. "That was kind of weird."

The Warriors trailed 110-108 in a topsy-turvy game when Jack hit two free throws with 52 seconds left to tie the score. He converted a tough floater in the lane to give Golden State a 112-110 lead, and he finished off the Hornets with three free throws.

New Orleans struggled on its final possessions. Eric Gordon missed an open shot that would have broken a 110-all tie. Jason Smith was called for an illegal screen when they trailed 112-110. Greivis Vasquez, Jack's replacement as the starting point guard, missed a 3-point shot that would have tied the score at 113.

Jack averaged a career-high 15.6 points and 6.3 assists for rebuilding New Orleans last season, but the Hornets took Duke's Austin Rivers in the first round of the NBA draft. Soon after, they traded Jack in a three-way deal.

Coming off the bench for the Warriors, he averaged 12.1 points and 5.2 assists and more than doubled both totals on Saturday night.

"He was special," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "He was awfully good. Obviously there was something extra coming back and playing against former teammates. He made big plays for us."

Thompson scored 24 points in the first half as the Warriors led by as much as 16. Stephen Curry, returning after missing two games with a right ankle sprain, had 17 of his 20 points in the second half.

Gordon scored 23 points for the Hornets, who lost despite shooting a season-high 57 percent. Rookie Anthony Davis added 20 points and 12 rebounds, but he missed five of seven free throws, including two pivotal ones in the final two minutes. Vasquez added 15 assists.

"Put that on me," Davis said. "I should not be missing free throws like that. With that, we're not going to win."

The Warriors, who had lost five of six after a 22-10 start, won despite the absence of center David Lee, who missed his first game of the season after spraining his left ankle on Friday against San Antonio. The Hornets lost for only the second time in eight games after a 7-25 start.

It was the most points they have scored in a loss in coach Monty Williams' three-year tenure.

"We lost our identity tonight," Williams said. "We gave up 116 points to a team that is undermanned. We didn't knock down a free throw and we turned the ball over 17 times. You don't deserve to win."

Golden State cooled off after a blistering first half when it hit 61.4 percent of its shots, but it made just enough plays down the stretch to rally from a seven-point, fourth-quarter deficit.

The Warriors shot only 33 percent in the second half at the end of back-to-back road trip, and the Hornets appeared in control after going up 102-95 with a 9-2 spurt. But Thompson hit a 3 - his only basket of the second half - to make the score 107-104, and after the Hornets went back ahead 110-108, Jack took over.

"We made mistakes, but we didn't quit," Jackson said. "We didn't hang our heads, even when things weren't going our way. It was a big-time victory."

Trailing since the late stages of the first quarter, the Hornets took the lead with a 13-2 run near the end of the third quarter. Davis dunked and Vasquez hit a 3-pointer to put them ahead 82-81. Anderson sank a 3 in between two baskets from Rivers to make the score 89-83.

Thompson hit his first seven shots in in the first half before Davis blocked his attempt with 4:21 left in the second quarter. Thompson responded with two more 3-pointers and a driving layup to put the Warriors ahead 67-57 at the break.

Thompson was 10 of 13 overall and 4 of 4 from 3-point range in the first half, making up for Curry's slow start. Curry started 1 of 5, but when he hit his first shot 11 seconds into the second quarter, the Warriors already led 36-27. They stretched that advantage to 60-44 on Thompson's third 3.

Notes: The Hornets tied a season high with 32 points in the third quarter. ... Golden State's 67 points in the first half were a team high and the most New Orleans has allowed year. . Lee said before the game he could have played but the team wanted him to rest the ankle to avoid further damage at the end of back-to-back games. . The difference for the Hornets when Davis was on or off the floor? He blocked Richard Jefferson's shot with enough authority late in the first quarter to send Jefferson on to his rear end. With Davis on the bench early in the second, Jefferson drove for a thunderous reverse dunk.

Notebook: Warriors 116, Hornets 112

Bradley Handwerger, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:45 PM - Updated Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:45 PM

THE FACTS: Jarrett Jack wasn't re-signed by the New Orleans Hornets in the offseason after leading the team one season ago. Saturday night, Jack made them pay, clinching a 116-112 win for the Golden State Warriors over the Hornets. He scored seven straight points in the final 52 seconds and finished with 25 points and 12 assists. Jack also went 10-for-11 from the free-throw line to pace Golden State.

The Warriors (24-15) were able to grab the road win in spite of being outrebounded 37-33 and allowing the Hornets to shoot 57 percent from the floor. The Hornets (13-27) took a 110-108 lead after Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis made three consecutive free throws. But then Jack took over, culling fouls from two different players on three different possessions to get him to the line.

Gordon led New Orleans with 23 points while Davis had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Ryan Anderson scored 19 off the bench. New Orleans had been the hot team, winning six of seven heading into the game while the Warriors were coming off of a loss at San Antonio a night earlier and played without David Lee, who injured his left ankle against the Spurs.

QUOTABLE: "People tend to say you play with a chip on your shoulder when you play against your old team or whatever the case may be. But I play with a chip on my shoulder all the time. Nothing has ever been given to me in this league."

--The Warriors' Jarrett Jack

THE STAT: 56.5 -- That's the Hornets' shooting percentage from the free-throw line. In spite of taking seven fewer free throws than Golden State actually sank, New Orleans could have picked up its seventh win in eight games if it had gone better than 13-for-23 from the charity stripe.

TURNING POINT: The game turned on one back-to-back possession with less than a minute to play. Golden State inbounded the ball to Jack, who freed himself for an 11-foot jumper. On the ensuing Hornets possession, Jack coerced New Orleans' Greivis Vasquez into a foul that put the Warriors point guard back on the line. He went 1-for-2 and the Hornets were never back within three points again.

QUOTABLE II: "We lost our identity tonight. We gave up 116 points to a team that is undermanned."

-- Hornets coach Monty Williams

HOT: The Warriors' Klay Thompson couldn't seem to be stopped in the first half. His 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting in just 19 minutes paced Golden State to a 10-point halftime lead and helped the Warriors build a one-time 16-point lead early in the game.

BAD MOVE: The Hornets were in the game in the first quarter as long as Vasquez and Gordon were on the floor. But the moment Williams took both out, the first half began to fall apart. The duo was not on the floor beginning with 1:07 to play in the first quarter and the Hornets trailing just 27-26. By the time both returned with 7:13 to go in the second, the Warriors were up by seven and momentum had totally switched.

NOTABLE: Jack's 25 points and 12 assists on Saturday means for the first time in his career he recorded back-to-back games with at least 20 points and 10 assists, which he had against the Spurs one game earlier. ... New Orleans' 57-percent shooting, 45 made field goals and 112 points were season highs for a home game. ... Golden State's Festus Ezeli recorded a career-high 13 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds. ... New Orleans Saints coaches Joe Vitt and Steve Spagnuolo attended the game.

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Monday vs. Sacramento, Wednesday @ San Antonio, Friday vs. Houston. For the Warriors, Monday vs. Clippers, Wednesday vs. Oklahoma City, Friday @ Chicago.

• Warriors: Bogut, Rush
• Hornets: Miller

• Warriors: --
• Hornets: --

• Lead Changes: 18
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #71 Rodney Mott, #47 Bennie Adams, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 15472
• Duration: 2:20