Stephen Curry returns home, scores 23 points to lead Warriors past Hornets 115-97

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 23 points with four 3-pointers in his annual Charlotte homecoming game and the Golden State Warriors beat the Hornets 115-97 on Friday night for their third straight win.

Andrew Wiggins turned in another strong game with 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Trayce Jackson-Davis added 18 points for the Warriors, who entered the game in 10th place in the Western Conference standings and battling the Houston Rockets for a spot in the play-in tournament.

Miles Bridges had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Charlotte, which failed in its bid to win back-to-back games for the first time since the All-Star break.

The Warriors broke open a tight game at halftime by outscoring the Hornets 39-26 in the third quarter behind 12 points from Curry and seven from Wiggins.

Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and starred at Davidson College before entering the NBA draft as a first-round pick in 2009, always packs the Spectrum Center and Friday night was no exception.

With his brother Seth and father Dell looking on, Curry finished the game 9 of 18 from the field. Seth plays for Charlotte but is out with an ankle injury, while Dell is a broadcaster for the Hornets.

Curry buried a long 3 with six minutes left that essentially sealed the win and left the game with about two minutes left to an ovation.

Charlotte rookie Brandon Miller briefly left the game with 8 1/2 minutes left after his leg got tangled up with Draymond Green while going for a rebound. He had just 12 points after making a career-high seven 3s on Monday night.

Green, who was ejected from the Warriors last game against Orlando, was later whistled for a foul when he appeared to push Charlotte’s Grant Williams to the ground. Coach Steve Kerr challenged the call, but the play was upheld.

The Warriors had no problems scoring on the Hornets, repeatedly taking advantage of breakdowns by Charlotte’s defense, finding wide open players underneath the basket on three different occasions.

UP NEXT

Warriors: Visit Spurs on Sunday night.

Hornets: Host Clippers on Sunday night.

__

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba