OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Baron Davis and Matt Barnes scored 29 points apiece, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 97-89 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday night.
Davis and Barnes each had big shots down the stretch for the Warriors, who won despite shooting just 39.5 percent from the field. A jumper by Davis from the left side made the lead 91-85 with 1:23 remaining. After a Hornets miss, Barnes took a pass from Davis in the right corner and sank a 3-pointer for a 94-85 lead.
Barnes added 11 rebounds and five steals.
Rasual Butler scored 30 points for the Hornets. Jannero Pargo had 24 points, and Tyson Chandler grabbed 15 rebounds.
Davis, coming off an eight-point performance in a loss to Sacramento on Saturday, was just 10-of-25 from the field and Barnes was just 9-of-20. But that was good enough against New Orleans, which was outscored 26-2 in fastbreak points.
The Hornets, without injured point guard Chris Paul and three of their other top offensive players, had several stretches where they couldn’t hit a basket. They went about 41/2 minutes without a field goal from late in the first quarter to early in the second, and closed the third quarter by making one field goal in the final 4:59, allowing the Warriors to build a 13-point lead.
But then Golden State went cold, missing its first 10 shots of the final period as the Hornets pulled within 76-74. Davis ended the run with two free throws, and Mickael Pietrus and Barnes converted consecutive three-point plays to extend the lead to 10.
The Warriors, who trailed by as many as 12 in the first quarter, outscored New Orleans 16-4 in the first 5:20 of the second quarter to take the lead. Barnes scored nine during the run. Golden State pushed the advantage to 10 later in the quarter before the Hornets stopped the bleeding with a small run of their own in the final minute.
Notes: Kelenna Azubuike made his NBA debut for the Warriors. Signed from Fort Worth of the NBA’s developmental league, Azubuike had 4 points and 3 rebounds in 161/2 minutes. … The Warriors won for just the fourth time in 15 road games. … Golden State scored 23 points off turnovers. Meanwhile, the Warriors’ seven turnovers led to just six points for the Hornets.
AP-ES-01-02-07 2236EST
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