What we learned as Warriors bounce back with win over Hornets

What we learned as Warriors bounce back with win over Hornets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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Two days after losing to the reeling 76ers in Philadelphia, the Warriors took the court Monday in Charlotte against a Hornets team that had lost 14 of its last 17 games.

Easy money for Golden State? Hardly.

It took a second-half outburst from intermittently slumping veteran Buddy Hield for the Warriors to create enough space to exhale and walk out of Spectrum Center with a 119-101 victory over the Hornets.

Five Warriors scored in double figures, led by Hield’s 22 points. Stephen Curry totaled 21, Brandin Podziemski had 19, Draymond Green 16 and Jimmy Butler 13.

Golden State (33-28) moved into sixth place in the Western Conference after winning for the eighth time in 10 games since acquiring Butler.

The win came with some concern, though, as Gary Payton II took a blow to the face midway through the third quarter, was helped into the locker room and did not return.

Here are three observations from a game that was perilously close before the Warriors recovered from 6-of-28 shooting from deep in the first half to go 12 of 22 after intermission:

Buddy Shows Up

Hield has been either white-hot or ice cold lately, making at least five triples in four of his last 10 games, while combining to shoot 7 of 32 in the other six.

After draining 1 of 3 from distance in the first half, Hield was 4 of 6 in the second half. When the Hornets pulled within three (75-72) with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter, Hield went to work, scoring back-to-back triples in the final 73 seconds to put the Warriors up 12.

That jolt of momentum seemed to steady Golden State, which outscored Charlotte 33-24 to pull away in the fourth quarter.

Hield’s 22 points came on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, including 5 of 9 beyond the arc. He added five rebounds, two assists and one steal to finish plus-9 in 31 minutes.

The Warriors are unbeaten (10-0) when Hield scores 19 or more points and 12-1 when he scores at least 18.

Butler Looks Human

Butler was ineffective in the road opener against the Orlando Magic – taking a blow to the back in the process – and was sidelined with back spasms in the loss to the 76ers.

He was back on the floor Monday but didn’t often resemble the guy who intensified everything around him in his first seven games with the Warriors. His diminished physical burst indicated he was playing through at least some discomfort.

Butler finished with 13 points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field, including 1 of 3 from distance, four assists and three rebounds; he averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists in his first seven games as a Warrior. He played 31 minutes and finished plus-15 – plus-12 after halftime.

His absence in Philly surely affected the second unit, and it wasn’t much better against the Hornets. The boost Butler had given Moses Moody and Podziemski was invisible in the first half before showing up at times in the second half.

GP2 Flashing His Value

Payton was among the names that surfaced in chatter as the Warriors staggered toward the NBA trade deadline last month, largely because his expiring contract at $9.1 million makes him easily tradeable.

The Warriors kept him, and his recent play indicates that was a smart choice.

Coming off the loss to the 76ers on Saturday – a game where only he and Curry played well – GP2 came off the bench with another strong performance. He finished with nine points, three two, one block and at least three “hockey assists.”

Payton over his previous seven games averaged 8.4 points on 68.4-percent shooting from the field, including 50 percent from distance, along with 2.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and one steal. His comprehensive impact, along with his chemistry with Curry, makes him an important member of the team.

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