David Lee had 23 points and 16 rebounds, Stephen Curry had 20 points and nine assists and Jarrett Jack had 19 points and nine assists to help the Golden State Warriors to a 98-88 comeback victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.
With the win, the Warriors reduced their magic number to clinch a playoff spot in the ultra-competitive Western Conference to three.
Eric Gordon led New Orleans with 21 points. Greivis Vasquez had 15 points and nine assists. Former Stanford product Robin Lopez finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Warriors swept the four-game season series against the Hornets, who will be renamed the Pelicans next season.
Player of the game
Jarrett Jack
With the offense not clicking at the start of the game and Curry in foul trouble for most of the evening, Jack came to the rescue of the Warriors. While the starters scored just 10 points on 3 of 17 shooting in the first 12 minutes, Jack scored six points on 3 of 4 shooting. Jack kept the Warriors in the game early and that allowed Lee and Curry to put away the Hornets late. The former Hornet played the second-most minutes (35:58) in the game and finished 8 of 11 from the floor, adding to his Sixth Man of the Year candidacy.
Turning points of the game
The Hornets led by nine at the end of the first quarter. While Warriors coach Mark Jackson had his starters in to start the second quarter, Hornets coach Monty Williams went with his reserves. By the time Gordon and Vasquez (15 points in the first quarter) came back in with 6:37 left in the half, the Warriors had taken a one-point lead. The duo was unable to stop Golden State's momentum. The Warriors ended up on a 28-8 run and led by nine at halftime.
After allowing the Hornets to score 28 points on 47.8 percent shooting in the first quarter, the Warriors allowed only 14 points on 27 percent shooting in the second. The Warriors also committed just one turnover in the second quarter (six in the first).
The second turning point of the game came late in the third quarter. After Curry missed a running jumper, Festus Ezeli dove for and got the loose offensive rebound. From his back, Ezeli threw it out to Jack, who nailed a 3-pointer. That was the start of a 14-4 run, bridging the third and four quarters, that sealed the game for the Warriors.
Ezeli had two points, an offensive rebound, an assist and a block in 40 seconds at the start of the run.
Key stats of the night
FG%: Warriors 46.2 Hornets 39.8
3FG%: Warriors 36.8 Hornets 26.7
Rebounds: Warriors 47 Hornets 39
Bench scoring: Warriors 33 Hornets 15
Quote of the night
“He’s an extension of me and he’s a playmaker,” said Warriors coach Mark Jackson on Jarrett Jack. “He’s tough. He competes, leads and I’m tired of saying it, the guy is the Sixth Man of the Year. It doesn't get any better off the bench. I’m not talking about highlight scoring, just good old fashioned solid basketball that puts you in the position to win games."
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