The Charlotte Hornets, led by Dwight Howard’s 29 points, shocked the Golden State Warriors 111-100 on Friday in Oakland, California.
Howard, who added 12 rebounds and seven assists, led six Hornets players in double figures as Charlotte notched just their third away victory of the season and avenged a 101-87 home loss to the Warriors on Dec. 6.
The Warriors conceded 46 points in the paint and an even more damaging 18 turnovers that led to 32 Charlotte points.
Photo: AP
“They took it to us,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “They totally outplayed us.”
Kevin Durant scored 27 points for Golden State and Klay Thompson, playing in his 500th NBA game, added 24.
Draymond Green struggled with his shot, but handed out 16 assists with 11 rebounds to go with his eight points.
However, the Hornets reserves outscored the Warriors bench 39-27.
Reserves Frank Kaminsky and Jeremy Lamb produced nine points in an 11-0 scoring run early in the fourth quarter that stretched Charlotte’s lead from 84-81 to 95-81.
The Warriors would not get the deficit under double digits from there.
The brightest note of the day for Golden State was word that two-time MVP Stephen Curry was expected to play yesterday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
“I would say most likely he’ll play,” Kerr said. “I talked to him today and he was feeling good.”
Durant said the Warriors were not the same without Curry, who has missed 11 games with a sprained ankle.
“We’re going to definitely be a different team when he comes back,” Durant said.
BUCKS 97, THUNDER 95
The Milwaukee Bucks ended the Thunder’s six-game winning streak with a 97-95 victory in Oklahoma City — but Giannis Antetokounmpo’s game-winning dunk in the final second sparked controversy when replays appeared to show him stepping out of bounds.
No whistle was blown on the play, so officials said they could not review it, and when Thunder star Russell Westbrook missed a desperate long-range effort as time expired, the Bucks’ win was in the books.
“I guess we’ll see something on the ticker that says the referees missed that one,” said Oklahoma City’s Carmelo Anthony, who could be seen arguing with officials after the buzzer. “We can’t do nothing about that at this point, so we might as well forget about it and move on.”
Antetokounmpo, who took an inbounds pass and drove past Oklahoma City’s Josh Heustis before rising over Westbrook for the decisive dunk, said he did not realize he might have stepped out of bounds.
“Coach trusted me having the ball late and making that play and do what I do best and go to the rim and try to make it happen,” he said.
In Friday’s other games, it was:
‧ Wizards 121, Rockets 103
‧ Raptors 111, Hawks 98
‧ Mavericks 128, Pelicans 120
‧ Bulls 119, Pacers 107
‧ Nets 111, Heat 87
‧ Suns 111, Kings 101
‧ Clippers 121, Lakers 106
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