Back in the win column.
The Golden State Warriors didn’t play their best game on Monday night. But welcoming back Jimmy Butler III, who missed Saturday’s brutal loss, and playing an awful Charlotte Hornets team was enough to get the job done. It wasn’t pretty, but the Dubs emerged from Charlotte with a 119-101 victory, and sole possession of the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
It was the defense that drove things for the Dubs against Charlotte’s lowly offense. They couldn’t find anything on the offensive end early, but their defense was keeping the Hornets in check. Eventually that defense started to generate offense, and it only took about six minutes before the Warriors had a double-digit lead. Butler’s return after a one-game injury hiatus was immediately felt, as the Warriors looked so much more comfortable when Steph Curry went to the bench than they did in their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. It looked like Golden State might run away with things in the first quarter, but rookie Tidjane Salaun — who has been struggling mightily with his jump shot — caught fire for a trio of three-pointers, and the Warriors lead was just 28-21 when the buzzer rang.
Then it got ugly. Only 30 seconds into the second quarter, the lead had dwindled to two points. There was legitimate reason for concern, with the Dubs simply unable to make shots. Clanked three after clanked three came and went, but somehow the Warriors were able to build the lead back up thanks to some quality defense. Eventually the offense heated up a little, with Curry going full quarterback mode and whipping passes all over. At halftime the Warriors led 58-49, despite shooting a dismal 8-for-28 from three-point range.
If the second quarter brought a scare, the third quarter brought some horrors. It felt like they spent almost the entirety of the quarter clinging to the lead, and to make matters worse, both Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II suffered injuries. Podziemski was able to return, but Payton — who took the crown of LaMelo Ball’s head to his face, and left the court with assistance and dripping blood — never came back from the locker room. The Warriors were losing their composure and their discipline: Steve Kerr picked up a technical foul, Draymond Green was assessed a Flagrant 1, and the Warriors awarded the Hornets significantly more free throws in the third quarter than in the entirety of the first half. But as the quarter neared a close, the defense turned things up a notch, and finally some shots fell. Buddy Hield nailed back-to-back threes (the Warriors had been 9-for-35 to that point) to push the lead to double digits, and Butler added in one of his own. Even with a little flurry from Charlotte, the Warriors led 86-77 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter was, thankfully, devoid of drama. An early Hield three made it a 15-point lead, as Buddy started to find a whole bunch of offensive rhythm. Finally the points started coming easily to the Warriors, and while the Hornets had a few spurts, they were never able to get close. It was at times sloppy and ugly, but by the time the buzzer rang on a 119-101 win, it somehow felt like a blowout.
Hield led the Warriors with 22 points while shooting 5-for-9 from distance, while a trio of starters secured double-doubles: Curry (21 points and 10 assists), Podziemski (19 points and 10 rebounds), and Green (16 points and 13 rebounds). Butler added an efficient 13 points, while regularly getting to the free throw line. And thanks to Hield’s burst and their late improvements, the Warriors ended up a respectable 36.0% from distance, while holding Charlotte to just 27.5%.
But there’s no time to bask in the glory of a mediocre victory. Tuesday presents a much bigger challenge: a visit to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks.