Warriors at Hornets
When Stephen Curry gets on a roll from beyond the arc, the rest of the league is put on notice. Curry will try to keep up his torrid pace and lead the Golden State Warriors to an eighth straight win when they visit the stumbling Charlotte Hornets on Friday. Curry got off to an ugly start in the first stop of the five-game trip but snapped out of it by going 8-of-11 from 3-point range on Monday and followed that up with a 6-of-8 showing as the Warriors swept through Florida.
The Hornets let Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews combine to go 10-of-17 from 3-point range in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday and have dropped seven in a row. That skid began at Golden State on Nov. 15, when Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 40 points while going 7-of-12 from beyond the arc in the 112-87 thrashing. Charlotte lost another starter when Marvin Williams went down with a shoulder injury in 105-97 loss to Portland but got an encouraging performance off the bench from Brian Roberts.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), SportSouth (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (12-2): Golden State is off to the best start in franchise history and is getting strong efforts from different players every night, with production from Curry and Thompson the most consistent aspect of the offense. Curry put up his 40 points in Miami in 37 minutes on Monday and needed just 24 minutes and 13 shots to spray 28 points down on Orlando on Tuesday, throwing in a floater in the lane and some layups to round out the 3-point barrage. The All-Star’s hot streak comes on the heels of a two-game stretch in which he went 8-of-24 from the field in wins over Utah and Oklahoma City.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (4-12): Charlotte fell behind by 21 points at halftime and trailed by 30 in the third quarter at Golden State – the first of four losses to Western Conference playoff contenders during the current slide. Wednesday’s setback against Portland was the latest of the bunch, and the Hornets went into the half with an 11-point lead before the Blazers took control after the break. Charlotte center Al Jefferson continues to be a bright spot for the team and posted his third double-double in the last four games with 21 points and 14 rebounds on Wednesday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Roberts scored a career-high 24 points on Wednesday after totaling 28 points in the previous five contests.
2. Curry put up 43 points but the Warriors dropped a 115-111 decision at Charlotte last season.
3. Golden State F Harrison Barnes is 12-of-18 from the field over the last two games.