The first family of the NBA were all together in their hometown and the big brother came away with the victory.
Buddy Hield put up a team-high 22 points and Stephen Curry was right on his heels with 21 points in his hometown as the Golden State Warriors defeated the host Charlotte Hornets 119-101 on Monday night.
Brandin Podziemski contributed a double-double with 19 points and 11 boards, Draymond Green, the ultimate Swiss army knife, finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and Jimmy Butler III had 13 points as seven different Golden State players made at least one 3-point shot. Hield knocked down five triples from beyond the arc.
Curry, who was born in Cleveland but was raised in Charlotte, made three 3-point baskets, also dished out nine of his 10 assists in the first half and made 6 of 14 from the field. He is always the No. 1 attraction for Golden State’s annual visit to Charlotte as he played collegiately for nearby Davidson College.
The Hornets had one rule and appeared determined not to let Curry beat them in the first half and repeatedly blitzed the 11-time All-Star with double-teams. Curry responded accordingly by connecting with open teammates for easy buckets and had nine dimes at halftime.
Charlotte’s losing streak reached seven games despite a game-high 35 points from Miles Bridges and 25 points from LaMelo Ball. Mark Williams was solid, providing 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets, who committed 17 turnovers. Tidjane Salaun had 10 points off the bench.
Seth Curry, the younger brother of Stephen Curry, had a big goose egg and did not score in eight minutes off the Hornets bench.
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The Hornets finished shooting a frigid 39.5 percent from the field, including 11 of 40 from downtown.
Golden State, who vanquished the Hornets for the second time in less than a week, were money from the charity strike and made 21 of 24 free throws.
Hield matched his highest point total since early December. He also had 22 points on February21 against the Sacramento Kings when he also swished five 3-point shots.
The Warriors, who have won six of their last seven games, with their only loss coming from the Philadelphia 76ers, 126-119 on Saturday, were up by nine, 58-49 at halftime.
After Charlotte made it a one possession game cutting the lead to three late in the third quarter, Hield knocked down back-to-back 3s and Jimmy Butler added a corner 3 to help extend the lead back to double digits.
The Warriors outscored Charlotte 14-4 in approximately the first 4 ½ minutes of the final frame to build their lead to 100-81. Hield and Podziemski both connected on two 3-point shots during that span.
Bridges’ big game came with 11-for-20 shooting from the field with four 3-pointers combined with a 9-for-9 effort on free throws.
Golden State moved above .500 to 16-15 on the road, aided by scoring at least 28 points in every quarter.
Hornets veteran center Taj Gibson did not play because of illness.
The Warriors travel to the ‘Big Apple’, New York to take on Jalen Brunson and the Knicks on Tuesday.
The Hornets host Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
