Thanks to a hot-handed Klay Thompson who is 4/6 from afar and a defense that limits the Hornets to 34% on shots, the Warriors quickly make a first gap (37-26).
While LaMelo Ball is hardly inspired, it is Gordon Hayward who tries to keep Charlotte in ambush but the young Warriors drive the point home (57-40). It takes a drop in concentration from Jordan Poole and Golden State to see Terry Rozier limit the breakage (65-52).
The Hornets take advantage of the lack of intensity of the Warriors to pass them an 18-8 and return below the bar of ten units (78-70). Steve Kerr’s men are struggling to get back in place but it’s Klay Thompson who takes matters into his own hands to put the Hornets at a distance (89-78).
Golden State, however, continues to play with fire. Two errors from James Wiseman launch a 12-2 Hornets who come back on the heels of their opponent (96-95). With the wind in its sails and four minutes to play, two 3-pointers from LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward bring Charlotte to a tie (101-101)!
Stunned, the Warriors rely on Jonathan Kuminga to reverse the trend. Behind his energy, they pass an 8-2 to the Hornets, ended with a dunk from their winger to finally fold the case and earn a second victory in a row.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The will of Jonathan Kuminga makes the difference in the money time. At 101 everywhere and with the momentum clearly on the side of the Hornets, Jonathan Kuminga chained three actions that changed the face of the end of the match. Like Kawhi Leonard, he went to steal the ball from PJ Washington’s hands with authority. He then went for a defensive rebound at high altitude, before finishing the dunk on the other side to allow the Warriors to regain control of the game. He added an unobvious shot from mid-range from the baseline and the dunk that sealed the match.
– The two mistakes that revived Charlotte. Tired of their game the day before in Portland, the Hornets remained in ambush before taking advantage of two gross errors by James Wiseman to restart the game. With his team at +11, the pivot lets his opponent score, takes a first intention shot from 6 meters on the other side, and continues with an obvious illegal counter after a foul on LaMelo Ball, offering a 2 +1 to the Hornets point guard. If Wiseman will be released immediately after, this streak re-energized Charlotte and plunged the Warriors into an offensive slump that lasted for several minutes and could have been fatal.
– 12 minutes of play for Theo Maledon. If his playing time is down since the return of LaMelo Ball, the French point guard continues to have the confidence of Steve Clifford as a substitute point guard behind the Ball – Rozier pair. However, he was discreet with 5 points and 1 assist, while not being to his advantage in defense.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Klay Thompson. The “Splash Brother” scored 20 of his 29 points in the first half to put the Warriors into orbit. He slowed down after the break, looking for the thrust in vain on many occasions.
✅ Draymond Green – Donte DiVincenzo. The two players were decisive, however, scoring few points. Dryamond Green had 10 rebounds and 5 assists to go with his 9 points, while Donte DiVincenzo was silent but had 9 rebounds and gave 7 assists. They were both essential in defense.
✅ Jonathan Kuminga. Decisive late in the game with 8 of his 14 points, he also put out LaMelo Ball during his 23 minutes on the floor.
✅ terry rozier. The rear end was the strongest Hornet tonight. He finished with 19 points and 4 assists.
✅ ⛔ Jordan Poole. In the absence of Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole continues to score (24 points) but, tonight, he forgot to play his role as leader. He rushed and his teammates played in his image in the second half.
⛔ LaMelo Ball. The Hornets star finished the game 7/25 on shots. Apart from a good passage at the start of the last quarter when his team returned, he forced throughout the meeting.
THE FOLLOWING
Golden State (17-18) : the Warriors continue in back-to-back against the Jazz.
Charlotte (9-26): The Hornets return to Charlotte to host the Thunder on Thursday.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
