The Golden State Warriors blew away the Charlotte Hornets 136-116 at Chase Center on Saturday to pick up their third straight win. The Warriors suffered a big blow just before this game as Jimmy Butler was ruled out due to personal reasons, but they managed to put the Hornets away in his absence.
How did they do it? Well, it was a team effort. A total of eight Warriors scored in double-digits against the Hornets. It was an offensive clinic, as the hosts went 51-93 (54.8%) from the field and 23-52 (44.2%) from beyond the arc. The Warriors never trailed on the night and have now improved to 24-19. Here’s a look at how each Warrior fared against the Hornets.
De’Anthony Melton: A+
Game Stats: 24 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 TOV, 8-16 FG, 3-6 3PT, 5-5 FT, 21 MIN
De’Anthony Melton had an off night against the New York Knicks on Thursday, but bounced back in style here. Melton is a big reason why the Warriors have turned things around lately and set a new season-high for points. He had just set his previous season-high with 23 against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday and is on a roll.
Melton’s ability to score from the perimeter and at the basket is huge for the Warriors. He is also a fine defensive player and is proving to be one of the best acquisitions of this past offseason.
Draymond Green: A
Game Stats: 20 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST, 3 TOV, 8-14 FG, 4-8 3PT, 27 MIN
The Hornets played off Draymond Green here as they focused on Stephen Curry, and he made them pay. Green hit each of his first three shots and ended up recording just his second 20-point game of this season. It’s the first time he has done this in regulation.
Green was also effective as a playmaker, but he was a bit careless with the ball at times. Kon Knueppel managed to steal his inbounds pass at one point in the second quarter, and he can’t have lapses like that.
Brandin Podziemski: A
Game Stats: 16 PTS, 6 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL, 5-9 FG, 3-6 3PT, 3-5 FT, 30 MIN
Brandin Podziemski hasn’t always gotten a lot of love from Warriors fans this season, but he has been putting up some fine performances lately. Podziemski did everything against the Hornets off the bench. He led the Warriors in assists, and only Quinten Post had more rebounds than him on the team.
Podziemski was efficient here, as well, and he is regularly making shots at a high clip now. He is shooting 63.2% from the field over his last five games.
Stephen Curry: B+
Game Stats: 14 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST, 3 TOV, 6-12 FG, 2-8 3PT, 30 MIN
With so much of the Hornets’ attention being on Curry, he was never going to have a big statistical night. They tried their best to take him out of the game and force his teammates to beat them. That is exactly what the rest of the Warriors did.
The threes weren’t falling for Curry here, but he still shot 50.0% from the field. The two-time MVP had some good moments as a playmaker as well. One could argue Curry should get a lower grade, but when your teammates are going off primarily because the defense is focusing all their attention on you, you deserve some grace.
Buddy Hield: B+
Game Stats: 14 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 3 BLK, 5-8 FG, 2-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, 18 MIN
Buddy Hield looked to have been removed from the rotation, but head coach Steve Kerr gave him an extended run here, and the guard did not disappoint. While Hield had it going on offense, he did a lot of good work defensively as well. He tied a career-high with three blocks and had two steals as well.
Coaches often talk about players needing to stay ready even when they haven’t been getting minutes, and Hield certainly was here. Kerr might just have to put him back in the rotation now.
Will Richard: B+
Game Stats: 11 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TOV, 5-12 FG, 1-5 3PT, 31 MIN
Will Richard was inserted into the starting lineup here due to Butler’s absence. Richard had been anonymous in a fair few games in 2026, but certainly made a mark here.
Like Podziemski, Richard did a bit of everything against the Hornets. His threes weren’t quite falling, but that was about the only negative of his night.
Moses Moody: B+
Game Stats: 12 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK, 4-6 FG, 4-6 3PT, 27 MIN
Moses Moody has well and truly broken out of his shooting slump now. Following this latest excellent shooting night, Moody is now at a ridiculous 65.2% from beyond the arc in his last three outings. The volume is high, too, as he is averaging 7.7 attempts per game. The Warriors are always going to get solid defense from Moody, and they’d be hoping he can stay hot from deep as well.
Al Horford: B+
Game Stats: 11 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 2 BLK, 1 TOV, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, 1-1 FT, 19 MIN
Al Horford didn’t get off to the best of starts as a Warrior, but he is now in the midst of a solid stretch of play. Horford is hitting threes at a good clip and is playing good defense. This was his second game in a row with two blocks, and he is providing some much-needed rim-protection. This was something the Warriors were struggling with earlier in the season.
Quinten Post: C+
Game Stats: 7 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 3-5 FG, 1-3 3PT, 19 MIN
Post did not have the best of games here, but he did some great work on the glass in limited time on the court. It is an area where he hadn’t done all too well lately. This was actually the first time this year that Post grabbed more than five rebounds in a game. It’s great that he can hit threes at a solid clip, but you’d like to see more productivity on the glass from the seven-footer.
Gary Payton II: C
Game Stats: 5 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 2 TOV, 2-3 FG, 1-1 3PT, 12 MIN
Gary Payton II had been providing some solid two-way play for the Warriors, but didn’t make much of a positive impact in this one. Payton committed two offensive fouls while setting screens in the first half, and it wasn’t a surprise that he wasn’t out on the court for too long after halftime.
Trayce Jackson-Davis: N/A
Game Stats: 2 PTS, 1-1 FG, 4 MIN
Trayce Jackson-Davis only featured in garbage time here.
Pat Spencer: N/A
Game Stats: 2 REB, 4 MIN
Pat Spencer was another who was only out on the court in the final few minutes of the contest.
