The Golden State Warriors blasted the Charlotte Hornets out the gate and then steadily pulled away from their opponents to carve a 115-97 road win. Steph Curry returned to play in front of an adoring crowd to lead his teammates over the hometown team. Without Klay Thompson, the Dubs got a strong boost from Andrew Wiggins, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Draymond Green and Chris Paul.
Friday’s victory was their third straight after suffering back-to-back meltdowns to the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Bay Area team improved its record to 39-34 and 10th place, but sit barely in front of the suddenly surging Houston Rockets (38-35). There is no rest for the Warriors as they try to desperately hold off their young, inexperienced but talented pursuers.
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Golden State Warriors can still end up 8th in Western Conference
The Golden State Warriors are still within striking distance of eighth place, which is currently occupied by the Sacramento Kings (42-31). With nine games remaining, anything is still possible. For the “Dubs”, to reach that enviable spot, they will have to hope the Kings don’t shake out of their stupor. Friday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks was Sacramento’s second straight to slide them down the standings even more.
Golden State will cap off an exacting five-game road trip with another showdown with the dangerous San Antonio Spurs. If they can bring down Victor Wembanyama’s resilient squad, the Warriors can put a bit of cushion between themselves and the relentless Rockets.
Golden State has a tricky schedule ahead of it
After the Spurs tussle, the Golden State Warriors will have eight games on their slate, half of which will be on the road. Normally, teams will be happy to show their stuff in front of their home fans but that has not been the case for the “Dubs”. They are only 18-19 at Chase Center but 21-15 when they perform outside of San Francisco.
Regardless of where they play, the opponents lying in wait for them are quite dangerous. They still have to face the Dallas Mavericks twice, a team that is also looking to have a strong finishing kick. And then they will have to tangle with the LA Lakers (41-33) who have their own plans of moving up the standings as well.
Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors will also have to square off against the in-form New Orleans Pelicans (45-28) and the unpredictable Utah Jazz (29-45) twice.
The highlight of their remaining schedule will be the face-off with the Houston Rockets on Apr. 4. It is a fixture that will unsurprisingly have a big impact on both teams’ goal of reaching the playoffs.
