Hornets Extra: Warriors 105, Hornets 101

105

101

Last night before a sold-out Time Warner Cable Arena crowd of 19,381, it wasn't Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson that stole the show for the Golden State Warriors, it was Marreese Speights, who came out of nowhere to lead Golden State with 27 points, as the Warriors notched it's 8th straight win over the Charlotte Hornets 105-101.  Charlotte has now lost 8 straight games, triggering off rumors that Steve Clifford could be on the "Hot Seat" if things don't turn around for a struggling Hornets team that is currently sitting in last place in the Southeast Division with a dismal 4-13 record, and currently in 13th in the Eastern Conference.

"He saved us again." said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. "It's like the 4th time he saved us. He's just having a terrific season."  Speights wasn't the only star who stole the show for the Warriors in their win last night, Charlotte native Stephen Curry did get into the act, finishing with 26 points on 9-of-20 shooting, while Klay Thompson added in 17 points.  The Warriors finished off the night shooting 42.4% from the field, while their three-point percentage was dismal with 26.9%.

And for the slumping Hornets, Charlotte was led in scoring by Brian Roberts off the bench with 20 points.  The Hornets hope to end this long losing skid tonight, as they visit Atlanta to take on the Hawks at Philips Arena for a 7:30 p.m. start.

Hornets Extra: Warriors vs. Hornets

Golden State Warriors(12-2) vs. Charlotte Hornets(4-12)

Time Warner Cable Arena

Friday, 7:00 p.m.

Television: SportSouth

Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)

Last Meeting: Golden State 112, Charlotte 87(November 15th in Oakland)

Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): CHA leads series 27-22

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and the Charlotte Hornets hope to make it a successful one as they attempt to end their 7-game losing streak tonight against another Western Conference team that has a win streak of their own in the Golden State Warriors as they make a visit to Time Warner Cable Arena.  The last time these two teams met, the Warriors would take Charlotte to the woodshed in a 112-87 loss almost 2 weeks ago at Oracle Arena behind Klay Thompson's 21 point performance.

Scouting the Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are entering the game on a 7-game winning streak, and that's done in part by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, two players who are known for their three-point shooting that has helped the Warriors get to a 12-2 mark in the early stages of the 2014-15 season so far.  Whenever the Warriors come to town, it always draws a crowd to see Charlotte native Stephen Curry, who played his college basketball at Davidson, and a good crowd is expected on hand tonight to see him and the rest of the Warriors square off against a slumping Hornets team that is looking for some answers.

Scouting the Hornets

The talk around Charlotte over the last few weeks is of course, the struggles of both, the NFL's Carolina Panthers and the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, as both teams have yet to get back into the win column.  Charlotte is in a midst of a long 7-game losing streak, after dropping a 105-87 decision to the Trail Blazers back on Wednesday night at "The Hive", as they were without Lance Stephenson for the entire 4th quarter.  Can the Hornets finally break this long losing skid?  That and many questions could be answered tonight, as Charlotte wraps up its 3-game homestand tonight against the Golden State Warriors in Charlotte.

Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)

Saturday: Charlotte @ Atlanta Hawks*(7:30 p.m.)

Wednesday: Chicago Bulls vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)

Next Friday: New York Knicks vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)

December 10th: Boston Celtics vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)

*-Southeast Division game

NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.

Hornets Extra: Warriors 112, Hornets 87

87

112

The Charlotte Hornets finished off their West Coast road trip on a disappointing note last night at Oracle Arena, as the Golden State Warriors demolished the Hornets by a 112-87 margin.  The Hornets record on the season is now at 4-6 on the year, as Charlotte finished the road trip with a 1-3 mark, while Golden State improved to 7-2.

Leading the way for the Warriors in the win was Klay Thompson, who scored 21 points in his 27 minutes of action on 7-of-13 shooting, while Warriors co-captain Stephen Curry joined him with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting.  Not to be outdone for Golden State was Harrison Barnes with 17 points and Andrew Bogut, along with Marreese Speights added 13 points each.

Charlotte was led in the loss by Al Jefferson and his 19 points.  The Hornets are finally back home tomorrow night as they take on Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks for a 7:00 p.m. start at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Hornets Extra: Hornets @ Warriors

Charlotte Hornets(4-5) vs. Golden State Warriors(6-2)

Oracle Arena, Oakland

Saturday, 10:30 p.m.

Television: SportSouth

Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)

Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): CHA leads series 27-21

The finale of the 4-game West Coast road trip for the Charlotte Hornets wraps up tonight in Oakland, as they take on Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.  Last time out, the Hornets came back to defeat the Phoenix Suns by a 103-95 margin last night for it's first win on the West Coast trip, and their first road win of the season, and they did it without Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who was out last night, and he'll be out again tonight, while the Warriors on the other hand, are coming off a 107-99 win over Brooklyn on Thursday night.

Scouting the Hornets

With Michael Kidd-Gilchrist out of the lineup, the Charlotte Hornets battled back to come away victorious in last night's 103-95 win over the Suns in Phoenix, behind a 19 point performance from Kemba Walker for Charlotte in the win, it's first on the 4-game West Coast swing and its first road win on the year.

The Hornets hope to break even tonight as they visit Oakland to take on Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and the rest of the Golden State Warriors in the finale of the Western swing, before the Hornets head back home to "The Hive" on Monday night against Dirk Nowitzki and the always tough Dallas Mavericks.

Scouting the Warriors

In his first year at the helm as Golden State Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr has his team playing exceptionally well, and that example came in Thursday's 107-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets behind Klay Thompson's 25 point performance to lead the Warriors in the win.  Golden State is in a midst of a 3-game homestand at Oracle Arena, which wraps up tonight with a visit from the Charlotte Hornets, who are coming off a win of their own last night in Phoenix.

Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)

Monday: Dallas Mavericks vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Wednesday: Charlotte @ Indiana Pacers(7:00 p.m.)
Friday: Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte*(7:00 p.m.)
Next Sunday: Charlotte @ Miami Heat*(6:00 p.m.)
*-Southeast Division game

NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.

30 Teams in 30 Days: Golden State Warriors

The California trek continues for our "30 Teams in 30 Days" 2014-15 NBA season preview series, as we head up Interstate 5 to visit Oakland, where we will take a look at the always hungry and competitive Golden State Warriors, a team that is an entertaining one to watch, with some great shooters that can play well.

Last season's record: 51-31(2nd in Pacific Division/6th in Western Conference; Lost to LAC 4-3 in Western Conference First Round)

Head Coach: Steve Kerr(1st season as NBA coach)

Arena: Oracle Arena(19,596)

Website: warriors.com

The 2013-14 season for the Golden State Warriors proved to be somewhat a success, with the big time play of two of the team's top shooters leading the way, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.  The duo was known for shooting lights out from three-point range, and they both carried the load for Golden State to finish the season with a 51-31 mark and landing the 6th seed in last year's Western Conference playoffs.  In that series, they had to try stopping the "Lob City Mafia", consisting of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and the Los Angeles Clippers, but the Clippers would end their season, by winning the series in 7 games, and ending the Mark Jackson era in Golden State, as he finished with a 121-109 mark.

On May 19, 2014, the Warriors made Steve Kerr, a former NBA analyst for TNT, as it's new head coach, and upon arriving in Golden State, his goal was simple: win games more often.  Now with a new coach in place, expect Golden State to make a lot of noise again this season, just like they did under Mark Jackson's tenure, and in my opinion, I believe that the Warriors could be one of the top 5 "Teams to Watch" in the NBA this season, and other may have them as a team to contend for a title, but they have to go through a challenging season first in order to get back into playoff contention this year in the Bay Area.

Upcoming team previews in the "30 Teams in 30 Days" series:

• Monday: Sacramento Kings
• Tuesday: Portland Trail Blazers
• Wednesday: Minnesota Timberwolves
• Thursday: Memphis Grizzlies
• Friday: Indiana Pacers
• Saturday: Chicago Bulls
• Next Sunday: Milwaukee Bucks