Warriors Conquer Hornets Despite Career High 43 From Paul

The stage was set.  The Hornets could possibly clinch a playoff spot.  Peja Stojakovic was returning to the lineup. David West no longer was limping. Julian Wright's play has been steadily improving.  The Hornet's bench was strong in a three game winning streak, including back-to-back games on the west coast.

On top of all of that, the Warriors were shorthanded. Golden State had only seven players active. Their injury list looked worse than the Hornets.  Monta Ellis (jammed left ankle), Stephen Jackson (foot), Corey Maggette (head contusion) and Brandan Wright (shoulder) all sat out.

If I were a betting man (thank the Lord Almighty that I am not), I would have been willing to wager a tidy sum that the Hornets would make a clean sweep of the west coast road trip.

As I have written before, games are not played on paper.

Even though Chris Paul tied a career high with 43 points and added nine assists,  David West scored  31 points and added 14 rebounds, the Hornets could not pull this one off. No other Hornet had more than seven points. Peja made just one shot from behind the arc.

Jamal Crawford was unstoppable and finished with a 39 points, as the Warriors defeated the Hornets 111-103. New Orleans fell back a game in the division race, as first-place Spurs topped Indiana earlier Friday. The Hornets trail the Spurs by two full games, and Houston by a half-game as the Rockets lost to the Lakers on Friday.

Anthony Morrow dropped in 24 points, including a career-high five three-pointers for the Warriors. Former LSU star Anthony Randolph tied a career high with 20 points and set a career mark with 15 boards in the winning effort. Ronny Turiaf ended with 11 boards, seven points and six assists.

Golden State led by double digits through much of  the contest, but the Hornets fought back and led by a point with nine minutes to go.

After Randolph hit a basket and Crawford drained a three for an 82-78 lead, the Warriors led the rest of the way.