Swarm and Sting
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KD’s triple-double dooms the Charlotte Hornets as they lose at home, 101-87

By Jerry Stephens

CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 6: Kevin Durant
CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 6: Kevin Durant /
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A slow start led to the Charlotte Hornets eventual downfall as they lost to the shorthanded Golden State Warriors at home.

The Charlotte Hornets (20-6) were defeated by the Golden State Warriors (9-14) as they have now lost five of their last six games. Even though the Warriors were shorthanded without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, Kevin Durant stepped up to lead his team to victory. As for the Hornets, they struggled offensively most of the game.

Charlotte came into this game without their head coach as Steve Clifford has taken a leave of absence to deal with some health-related issues. Stephen Silas filled in as the acting head coach for the second game in a row. Frank Kaminsky suffered a right ankle injury in the first half and did not return to the game while Cody Zeller left in the third period with a left knee strain and did not return as well.

Game Story

The Hornets weren’t able to take advantage of Quinn Cook and Jordan Bell starting in place of Curry and Green in this one. This was a wire-to-wire victory for Golden State. Charlotte couldn’t recover after letting the Warriors get out to a 26-point lead in the first half. They got to within seven in the fourth period but never really threatened the defending NBA Champions. KD’s 35 points were a season-high as he recorded only the third 30-point triple-double of his career (first with the Warriors).

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Player of the Game

Kemba Walker finished the game with 24 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists in 36 minutes. Despite shooting only 38.1% (8-21) from the field, the all-star point guard still led the team in scoring and assists while only committing one turnover. He also had the best +/- out of the Hornets’ starting five.

Nicolas Batum added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists while Dwight Howard had 14 points and seven boards. Other than those three players, no other player scored in double-figures for Charlotte. The rest of the team only combined to score 34 points while Kemba, Nic and D12 put up 53 points.

The Warriors were led by Kevin Durant who ended the night with a monster triple-double. KD had 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Klay Thompson chipped in 22 points while Nick Young led the second unit with 10 points off of the bench. Andre Iguodala had eight points and eight boards.

Highlight of the Night:

Tweet of the Game:

"Quick Stings"

  • Golden State outscored Charlotte, 24-7 in fast break points.
  • The Hornets only shot 35.1% from the field compared to 47.6% for the Warriors.
  • Golden State recorded 12 blocks.
  • Charlotte actually out-rebounded and outscored their opponents in points in the paint.
  • Kemba Walker recorded his 14th 20-point game of the season.

With the loss, Charlotte falls to 0-1 versus Golden State in their season series. They will next meet on December 29th on the west coast. The Hornets have now lost seven straight games to the Warriors with their last win coming in 2014.

Next: Hornets interested in trading for Clarkson

In their next game, the Hornets will host the Chicago Bulls on Friday, December 8th. This will be the second meeting between the two sides so far this season after Charlotte lost 123-120 in the Windy City on November 17th. The Queen City Team will look to not only get revenge on the Bulls but also bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Warriors.

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