Warriors lose to much better New Orleans team

(01-26) 22:14 PST -- While the Warriors have shown they are an improved team over last year, the Hornets are on a whole another level. And while Golden State guards Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry have shined darting in and out against taller players, New Orleans guard Chris Paul is on a whole nother level.

The 6-foot Paul loomed large at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night, leading the Hornets to their 10th straight win, 112-103. He finished with 18 points and 17 assists, and David West scored 22 points as New Orleans shot 62.2 percent, the highest clip by a Warriors opponent this season.

Ellis scored 26 points, Dorell Wright had 25 and Stephen Curry added 20, but Golden State is now 0-2 to start off its longest homestand (eight games) since 1964.

The Hornets jumped out early with a perfect 19-4 run that put them up 21-8 halfway through the first quarter. It was perfect because New Orleans hit all nine of the shots it attempted in a 4:26 span, with Paul dishing out five assists.

The Warriors' only basket in that span was an Ellis three-pointer (and he was fouled for a four-point play). Otherwise, they missed four shots and had four turnovers.

But when Paul went to the bench at the end of the first quarter, Golden State came back and had a 12-0 spurt - with Wright scoring seven -- to cut the lead to 38-35 with 6:33 left in the second quarter.

Paul came off the bench and helped New Orleans build the lead back to 12 at halftime, 61-49. He finished the first half with 10 points and 10 assists.

Every time the Warriors came back, the Hornets had an answer. In the third quarter, Golden State cut it to seven but Ariza hit a jumper, then stole the ball from Curry and took off downcourt for a layup and three-point play that made it 75-63 with 5:55 left.

Ellis, who Hornets coach Monty Williams said before the game is one of the "few people in the league who are unguardable," had 19 points in the first half and six in the third quarter.

The crowd of 18,108 was hoping Golden State could pull off another fourth-quarter comeback like the last two times it played New Orleans. Reggie Williams scored 18 fourth-quarter points as the Warriors outscored the visiting Hornets 43-25 on March 17 to win 131-121. Then, three weeks ago in New Orleans, Ellis scored 12 of Golden State's 38 points in the fourth to cap a 110-103 victory.

But that wasn't happening Wednesday. The Warriors trailed 93-76 after three quarters, and Ellis shortly tried to get the crowd fired up when he drove against two defenders on a fast break. But he was called for a charge, and fans were heading for the exits shortly after that, missing a garbage-time rally that made the final score more respectable.

They did have something to tell their kids. They saw Golden State center Andris Biedrins, a 27-percent free-throw shooter, go 2-for-2 from the line.

Of course, they also saw him miss an easy inside basket in the opening minutes of the game and then go into his shell. He finished with 2 points and 2 rebounds in 17 minutes as the Warriors were outscored in the paint 50-28 through three quarters.
No 'D' in Warriors

In its 112-103 victory, New Orleans shot 62.2 percent from the floor, a season high for a Warriors opponent. The previous mark was 57.1 percent by the Knicks in their 125-119 win in Oakland on Nov. 19. On Wednesday, all five Hornets starters shot at least 62 percent: