Even without the services of two of their top players on Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors (20-6) and superstar forward Kevin Durant were able to exterminate the Charlotte Hornets en route to a 101-87 win at Spectrum Center. Durant, who led the Warriors to victory with his triple-double effort, finished with a game-high 35 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and two blocked shots in 36 minutes of action.
The Warriors were without two of their star players on the night with power forward Draymond Green (sore shoulder) and point guard Steph Curry, who will be out at least two weeks with a severely-sprained right ankle he injured against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Speaking to reporters, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was very impressed with how much Kevin Durant stepped up on Wednesday night in the team's first game since Curry's injury.
“Clearly the best player on the floor. The dominant player on the floor. What he showed is that, without Steph in particular, he almost had a different bounce to his step. Like, ‘I got it, this one's mine.' He was brilliant,” coach Kerr said of Durant.
Durant attributed the Warriors' success on the night against the Hornets to the team's quick start out of the gate.
“Tonight it felt like I could go in my bag of tricks and pull some stuff out,” Durant said after Wednesday night's victory, per a video tweeted by Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “I don't expect it to be like that every single game. We set the tone early and after that, I didn't have to handle the ball as much after the first quarter.”
The Warriors, who have won five straight games on the road, will conclude their six-game road trip on Friday night when they travel to take on the Detroit Pistons (14-10). The Pistons, who beat the Warriors 115-107 at Oracle Arena in late October, have lost four straight contests to begin the month of December.
Follow Us
Subscribe