CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Warriors overcame a double-digit deficit after the break and held a four-point lead with about a minute remaining, but couldn’t hold on and fell to the Charlotte Hornets 120-113 in overtime.
Back-to-back Hornets’ basket knotted the game up at 107 with about 23 seconds remaining.
The ball was in Stephen Curry’s hands to deliver the dagger in his hometown. But Dennis Smith Jr. smothered Curry, who barely got a shot off at the buzzer that was off the mark, sending the game into overtime.
The Warriors were outscored 13-6 in overtime to drop their fourth straight game in Charlotte. Curry hasn’t won in his hometown since Feb. 25, 2019 — and won’t get another chance until next season.
All five starters finished in double-digit scoring. Curry led the way with team highs in points (31) and rebounds (11). He also added six assists in 39 minutes. Jordan Poole contributed 24 points off the bench but nothing in overtime. He left the game in the final seconds with an apparent foot injury, which Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t have an update for after the game.
The Warriors came alive in the third quarter after a lethargic opening half plagued by cold shooting, shoddy defense and too many fouls, and kept that energy for most of the remainder of the game. But the effort waned at the back-end of overtime.
“We were tired. We had some really poor defensive possessions not communicating on the switches, we gave up a couple layups,” Kerr said. “They just didn’t have much left in the tank offensively. So give credit to Charlotte. They did a great job coming back in that final minute. We had to close the game there and we just couldn’t get it done and they were the aggressor in overtime.”
The Hornets, playing without LaMelo Ball (ankle), Cody Martin (quad) and Terry Rozier (ankle), had the advantage for the entire first half and most of the third, though the Warriors gradually chipped into it after the break.
Jordan Poole forced a steal and turned it into a two-point basket, but contact made with a Hornets player sent the 23-year-old crashing down the floor. He was slow to get up and winced in pain as he held his right shoulder.
But Poole seemed just fine on the Warriors’ next possession, knocking down a 3-pointer to put Golden State up 80-78 for their first lead of the game. Curry was also a key part of the third quarter surge, scoring 12 points and making two 3-pointers.
The Warriors’ defensive struggles continued against the Hornets as they allowed Charlotte to take a 62-50 lead into the break. That more than doubled the points the Magic scored in the first half of a blowout loss to the Orlando Magic the night before. Both Kerr and Kevon Looney said the cross-country travel played a factor in the slow start for Golden State.
“The first game on an East Coast road trip is always pretty tough,” said Looney, who had 10 points and nine rebounds. “Credit to those guys, they came out firing, they were pushing the ball, playing with a lot of pace. Took us a while to get our legs under us and once you start to hit some shots and get some stops, the game starts flowing better.”
The Warriors committed 14 fouls in the first half, surrendering 13 points at the foul line. Meanwhile, Golden State went to the free throw line only eight times. By the end of the game, the Hornets had 31 free throw attempts to the Warriors’ 16.
Two-way guard Ty Jerome provided a surprise spark off the bench in the second quarter, scoring seven points in five minutes, as he helped cut a 12-point deficit to four.
A Poole 3-pointer pulled the Warriors within three with 6:52 remaining in the half, but Golden State went cold. The Warriors missed seven consecutive shots and went an abysmal 2-for-9 down the stretch as the Hornets again pulled away.
The Warriors (3-3) will have a quick turnaround, playing the Pistons in Detroit Sunday evening to complete their first of two sets of back-to-backs on this five-city road trip out east.
Kerr didn’t disclose before the Hornets game whether he planned to rest some of his starters against the Pistons, but he said that Saturday’s game going to overtime would require him to talk to his performance staff before determining Sunday’s availability.
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