No Steph Curry, no Draymond Green, no problem for the Golden State Warriors. F Kevin Durant had 35 Points, 11 Rebounds, and 10 Assists, as he led the Warriors to a 101-87 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Durant set the tone early, scoring 16 Points in the first quarter on 6-9 shooting. The Warriors dominated in the first half, as they led by 26 at one point. Klay Thompson scored 22 Points on 9/14 shooting and Nick Young added 10 Points off the bench.
In the first game without Curry, the Warriors clamped down on the defensive end, only allowing 38 Points in the first half. Former Duke PG Quinn Cook made his first NBA start in place of Curry, and had 8 Points and 3 Assists.
Kemba Walker led the way for the Hornets, scoring 24 Points on 8/21 shooting, while Nic Batum added 15 Points on 6/12 shooting. Dwight Howard added 14 Points and 7 Rebounds.
The Hornets managed to cut the lead to 11 at the end of the third quarter, but couldn’t get over the hump, as Klay Thompson’s strong fourth quarter put the game out of reach. Thompson scored seven of his 22 Points in the last period.
The Warriors have been pretty banged up recently, with a multitude of their stars nursing injuries. Curry’s ankle injury remains the most serious health concern at the moment, but the Warriors looked like they didn’t miss a beat with their leader out.
The Warriors improve to 20-6 and travel to Detroit to cap off their 6-game road trip on Friday night. The Hornets host the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
