Hornets sting Warriors as Rockets and Thunder fall

LOS ANGELES: The Charlotte Hornets, led by Dwight Howard’s 29 points, shocked the NBA champions Golden State Warriors 111-100 in Oakland, California.

Howard, who added 12 rebounds and seven assists, led six Hornets players in double figures as Charlotte notched just their third away victory of the season on Friday and avenged a 101-87 home loss to the Warriors on Dec 6.

The Warriors conceded 46 points in the paint, and an even more damaging 18 turnovers that led to 32 Charlotte points.

“They took it to us,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “They totally outplayed us.”

Kevin Durant scored 27 points for Golden State and Klay Thompson, playing in his 500th NBA game, added 24.

Draymond Green struggled with his shot but handed out 16 assists with 11 rebounds to go with his eight points.

But the Hornets reserves outscored the Warriors bench 39-27.

Reserves Frank Kaminsky and Jeremy Lamb produced nine points in an 11-0 scoring run early in the fourth quarter that stretched Charlotte’s lead from 84-81 to 95-81.

The Warriors wouldn’t get the deficit under double digits from there.

The Washington Wizards handed the Houston Rockets a fifth straight defeat, with 26 points from Otto Porter fuelling their 121-103 win.

Bradley Beal added 21 points for Washington and Kelly Oubre Jr scored 10 of his 21 in the fourth quarter – when the Wizards turned a nine-point lead into a rout.

James Harden paced the Rockets with 20 points. Chris Paul returned after missing three games with a thigh injury, but couldn’t reverse the Rockets’ fortunes.

“They made tough shots, but our defensive pressure was not where it needed to be,” Harden said.

“Not just tonight, but it has been like that on our little skid, so we just have to get back to our basics and get back to what we know, how we know how to play and we will be good.”

The Milwaukee Bucks ended the Thunder’s six-game winning streak with a 97-95 victory in Oklahoma City – but Giannis Antetokounmpo’s game-winning dunk in the final second sparked controversy when replays appeared to show him stepping out of bounds.

No whistle was blown on the play, so officials said they could not review it, and when Thunder star Russell Westbrook missed a desperate long-range effort as time expired the Bucks’ win was in the books.

“I guess we’ll see something on the ticker that says the referees missed that one,” said Oklahoma City’s Carmelo Anthony, who could be seen arguing with officials after the buzzer. — AFP