After a gut-wrenching defeat to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night, the Hornets will look to rebound against the two-time reigning champion Golden State Warriors, a showdown which tips off tonight at 7 p.m. ET in Charlotte.
The road team went 2-0 in the season series last year between these two sides, although Golden State’s Steph Curry missed both contests with an ankle injury. The Warriors are kicking off a four-game Eastern Conference road trip in Charlotte and have gone 19-4 since Dec. 27, although have dropped two of their last three appearances.
Per usual, three-time All-Star Kemba Walker has been spectacular for the Hornets lately and is coming off a 32-point outing in Saturday’s game against Brooklyn. Trailing only James Harden, Paul George, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bradley Beal, Walker is the fifth-leading scorer in the NBA this month (29.1 PPG), while also averaging 4.8 RPG, 6.2 APG, 1.4 SPG and a relatively miniscule 2.1 TPG across nine contests.
Kemba’s counterpart on Golden State is as good as it gets in Curry, who sits tied for second in the NBA in scoring this year (28.7 PPG). Currently knocking down over 5.0 three-pointers a game on a 45.0 percent clip, the five-time All-NBAer has simultaneous posted these marks only once in his career, which was three years ago during his unanimous MVP campaign.
Having won three of the last four NBA titles, Golden State has been the class of the league for the last few years, although has occasionally (and understandably) been prone to sleepwalking at times in the regular season. The Hornets have quickly fallen behind early in their last four games and need a much better start if they want to keep pace with the fast-paced Warriors.
Game Note – Warriors F Draymond Green exited Saturday’s loss to Houston with a sprained left ankle and did not return. His status for tonight’s game was unknown as of Sunday afternoon… Golden State leads the NBA in offensive rating (115.8) and is ranked T-15th in defensive rating (109.2)… Kemba Walker needs just seven field goals to break Dell Curry’s all-time franchise record (3,951).
Classic Fact – The Hornets connected on 58-of-93 shots (64.0 percent) in a 132-113 home win over the Warriors on Feb. 6, 1992, which is the most field goals made in a single game in franchise history. Kendall Gill scored a team-high 27 points for Charlotte, while Muggsy Bogues had 16 points, 16 assists and 6 steals in the win.