An unfortunate turn of events in the final moments of the fourth quarter capped by a buzzer-beating shot from Charlotte’s Terry Rozier left the Warriors with a stunning 102-100 loss to the Hornets on Saturday.
The Warriors had used a 14-3 spurt in the fourth quarter to take a 10-point lead, but Charlotte chipped away at the deficit over the final five minutes of the game. Warriors wing Kelly Oubre Jr. made a 3-pointer from the corner with 53 seconds left in the game that had the Dubs up five, but Rozier responded with a three of his own and then tied the game on a pair of free throws after Draymond Green received two technical fouls arguing a call by the officials.
The Hornets controlled the ball after Rozier’s free throws, and the Hornets guard drove then dove toward the sideline and knocked down a contested shot as time expired, handing the Warriors their second straight disappointing defeat to open this road trip.
TEAM LEADERS
For the Warriors, it marked the second time in as many days that they lost a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. Only this time, it happened without Stephen Curry in the lineup. The two-time NBA MVP wasn’t feeling well, and the Warriors found out just moments before tipoff that they would be without the second leading scorer in the league.
Despite playing shorthanded, the Warriors played with a lot of grit. They didn’t shoot it well, but they outscored Charlotte in points in the paint (40-30), second-chance points (11-5) and fastbreak scoring (16-10). A tie game at the end of the third quarter, the Warriors used strong games Oubre and several reserves.
Oubre had 16 of his 25 points in the first half, Andrew Wiggins tallied 19 points and three reserves scored in double-figures. Eric Paschall logged 16 points in 29 minutes and Damion Lee and Brad Wanamaker each came through with 14 pints apiece.
Draymond Green didn’t score until the fourth quarter, but a 3-pointer and tip-in on consecutive Warriors possessions had the Warriors up by 10 points with 4:40 left in the game. But Rozier scored 14 points from that point on, including the shot that ultimately buried the Warriors to cap his 36-point night.
The loss drops the Dubs to 16-15 on the season, and they’ll look to get back on the winning track on Tuesday when the road trip continues in New York.
More Notables ...
- The Warriors fell to 5-9 on the road this season and 7-8 against the Eastern Conference.
- Golden State’s 15 first quarter points matched a season low for any quarter this season (15 in the first quarter on Jan. 6 vs. the Clippers).
- The Warriors scored 32 points off of 25 Charlotte turnovers, both season highs for Golden State.
- Golden State’s reserves outscored Charlotte’s, 46-26.
- Stephen Curry (illness) missed his first game of the season.
- Kelly Oubre Jr. recorded his third consecutive 20-point game with a team-high 25 points, his seventh 20-point game of the season.
- Damion Lee scored in double figures for the eighth time this season with 14 points, his second-straight double-digit scoring game.
- Brad Wanamaker scored a season-high 14 points, his second game scoring in double figures this season.
- Eric Paschall scored 16 points, his 16th game scoring in double figures this season.