Draymond Green vented his frustration on the Charlotte Hornets with a career-high 19 assists as part of a triple-double, and the Golden State Warriors extracted a measure of revenge Friday night in a 130-121 victory in San Francisco.
After drawing two technical fouls and getting ejected from Golden State’s 102-100 loss to the Hornets last week, Green bounced back with the most assists by a Warrior since Baron Davis also had 19 against the Memphis Grizzlies in January 2008.
🔥 Career-high 19 AST for Draymond
🔥 Triple-double (11 PTS, 12 REB)
🔥 @warriors win 3rd in a row@Money23Green was ACTIVE tonight. pic.twitter.com/3UqgGchgm2
— NBA (@NBA) February 27, 2021
The 19 assists tied the NBA season high, set last week by Phoenix’s Chris Paul at New Orleans.
Charlotte rookie LaMelo Ball, playing his first NBA game in his home state of California, accumulated 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The Hornets lost for the second time in three stops on their six-game trip.
Green also had 11 points and 12 rebounds as Golden State earned its first three-game winning streak after seven unsuccessful attempts following two-game runs earlier this season.
Stephen Curry had a game-high 29 points for the Warriors while Kelly Oubre Jr. went for 27, including 15 in Golden State’s 36-point first quarter.
The Warriors put up 30 more in the second period and 37 in the third, building a 103-84 lead before coasting home.
Andrew Wiggins (17 points), James Wiseman (16), Kevon Looney (10) and Damion Lee (10) also scored in double figures for the Warriors (19-15), who improved to four games over .500 for the first time this season.
Oubre shot 11-for-15 and Wiseman 7-for-10 from the floor, helping Golden State outshoot the visitors 60.8 percent to 46.1 percent.
One of his 19 (!) dimes on the night 👏
Assist of the Night || @StateFarm pic.twitter.com/j0zZLcW2j2
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 27, 2021
Curry, who made eight of his 15 field-goal attempts, also found time for nine assists.
Malik Monk had 25 points and Terry Rozier 24 to pace the Hornets, who have alternated wins and losses over their past eight games.
P.J. Washington put up 15 point and 10 rebounds while Gordon Hayward chipped in with 12 points and Miles Bridges 10 for Charlotte, which suited up just nine players after starting center Cody Zeller was a late scratch due to a bruised hip.
The Warriors used a franchise-record-tying 16 assists in the first quarter to build an early lead that turned into a 66-51 halftime advantage. Green had seven points, seven rebounds and eight assists in the first 12 minutes.