The last time they played the New Orleans Hornets, the Golden
State Warriors put together such a good fourth quarter that coach
Keith Smart has been using it as a visual aid ever since. With New
Orleans in town Wednesday night, Golden State was hoping to build
off that performance. Instead, the Warriors came out and played one
of their worst quarters of the season. Golden State committed seven
turnovers during the first 12 minutes and allowed the Hornets to
shoot 65 percent from the floor during a 112-103 loss in front of
18,108 at the Oracle Arena. New Orleans built a 13-point lead
midway through the first quarter, which essentially proved to be
the decisive stretch of the game.
OAKLAND
The last time they played the New Orleans Hornets, the Golden State Warriors put together such a good fourth quarter that coach Keith Smart has been using it as a visual aid ever since. With New Orleans in town Wednesday night, Golden State was hoping to build off that performance.
Instead, the Warriors came out and played one of their worst quarters of the season.
Golden State committed seven turnovers during the first 12 minutes and allowed the Hornets to shoot 65 percent from the floor during a 112-103 loss in front of 18,108 at the Oracle Arena. New Orleans built a 13-point lead midway through the first quarter, which essentially proved to be the decisive stretch of the game.
After a season-high four-game win streak, the Warriors have now dropped three straight. After losing to the NBA’s best team, the San Antonio Spurs, on Monday night, they fell to the league’s hottest team Wednesday. The win was the Hornets’ 10th in a row.
The Warriors (19-26) made a couple of runs to make it close, but they never evened the game.
Golden State’s strong fourth quarter in New Orleans on Jan. 5 allowed it to come back for a 110-103 victory. The Warriors outscored the Hornets 38-21 in the final 12 minutes to overcome a 10-point deficit after three periods.
Before Wednesday’s game, Smart said he’s used that quarter to demonstrate to his players how good they could be.
“We did everything I envision our team to be at some point,” Smart said. “We played very fast but still were able to defend in the half-court set. At some point, we’re going to start putting those quarters together with this team. You can see that it can happen. We know we can do it. We have done it. We’ve done it against some good teams, just not for 48 minutes. That’s what you need to do against really good teams.”
But the Warriors didn’t do much of anything right at the outset Wednesday. After a four-point play by Monta Ellis kept Golden State within 12-8, the Hornets proceeded to score nine points in a row for a 21-8 lead with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
New Orleans point guard Chris Paul, who is expected to be named a starter for the Western Conference All-Star team Thursday, had 17 assists to go along with 18 points. It marked the 48th time in Paul’s career that he’s dished out at least 15 assists in a game.
Paul took a seat on the bench for the first time with 56 seconds left in the first quarter and the Hornets leading 31-17. That’s when the Warriors went on the first of their two substantial runs in an attempt to make the game competitive.
New Orleans ultimately built a 38-23 lead with Paul on the bench, but the Warriors then scored 10 unanswered points, with Stephen Curry and Dorell Wright scoring five points each. Curry, who tweaked his troublesome right ankle during practice Tuesday, started and played 39 minutes, registering 20 points and six assists. Ellis led the Warriors with 26 points.
With Golden State within 38-33, New Orleans coach Monty Williams inserted Paul back into the game with 7:35 left before halftime. After Wright scored a driving layup, the Hornets scored six straight points to again establish breathing room. New Orleans led 61-49 at the intermission.
The Warriors started the second half strongly, even with Paul in the game. Center Andris Biedrins attempted his first free throws in five games, and produced some roars from the crowd by sinking both of them. That started an 8-0 run that cut the Hornets’ advantage to 65-61 with 8:35 left in the third quarter.
But that’s as close as Golden State got the remainder of the night. New Orleans went on a 22-9 run over the next six minutes to lead 87-70 and the rout was on. The Hornets extended their lead to 25 early in the fourth quarter before the Warriors made the score respectable.
The Warriors allowed the Hornets to shoot 62.2 percent from the floor, the highest an opponent has shot against them this season.
— Story by Jonathan Okanes, Contra Costa Times
