Led by Radmonovic, and with solid performances by Lin and Udoh, they closed the gap from 15 to 6 before the starters returned — when Monta’s hot hand from deep helped them finish the comeback. A dominant second half later (the Hornets scored 32 in the opening quarter, and just 36 in the final two), and the Warriors won this one going away.

Solid performances all around — foul trouble limited Monta and Curry’s minutes, but Monta still led all scores with 21, while Curry had another nice PG game with 8 assists. Lee’s rebounding numbers were down sharply tonight, but he still chipped in 16 points and did a decent job defending West. And Wright was solid as usual, with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Now the Warriors face a tight turnaround with a game tonight against Utah, but at least they’ll be taking two good wins against solid competition with them. The team has been legitimately better since the Bobcats debacle, and while they won’t be getting to .500 by the All-Star break, if they could stay hot they could definitely come close.

• Build on a Good Win. Lee and Curry both had arguably their best games of the season on Sunday, with Lee dominating the glass and Curry dishing like one of the best points in the league. Can they keep it up for a second game in a row?
• Own the Boards. Rebounding was a major key in the victory over the Thunder, and with Okafor out tonight there are no excuses not to do it again.
• Numbers for Ekpe. Udoh had a great game on Sunday, playing meaningful minutes and giving a great defensive performance throughout. But his stat line was shockingly empty. Can he do the same in terms of defense and energy, but contribute a few points and rebounds as well?

Decent offensive games from most of the starters, and Curry and Wright were at least able to come close to even on the +/- (Wright in particular is impressive at -1 in 42 minutes — what the hell happened the 6 minutes when he was off the court?). But in a perfect example of how much better of a point guard they have, Paul had 17 assists and 6 turnovers while Curry had 6 and 5.

Still, you just can’t overlook the defense. I didn’t watch the game, but from all I’ve read it sounds like Chris Paul just got absolutely everything he wanted as a facilitator. Biedrins was once again a complete non-factor — hard to disagree with Feltbot’s assertion that he essentially makes the Warriors play 4 on 5 when he’s on the court these days, leading to more turnovers since no one can get open — and with the season slipping away I hope that Smart will at least start giving Udoh more minutes at the 5. Might as well see what we have there.

At this point, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the Warriors are just not good enough to move out of the lower third of the league as currently constructed, largely because of their defense. And because they’re not completely awful, they’ll likely end up with another late-lottery pick that will hardly be a difference maker.

I’m starting to think that blowing things up is the way to go…

• Backcourt health. Curry tweaked his ankle in practice yesterday (though he’s expected to start), and Monta hasn’t been the same since tweaking his ankle last Friday. We need both to perform at a much higher level than we saw on Monday for the Warriors to have a chance. Silver lining: Chris Paul also tweaked his ankle recently, so maybe that will balance things out a bit.
• Goose ‘em. Biedrins has been on a horrible streak lately, with almost non-existent scoring, prolific fouling, and so-so rebounding in limited minutes. The team needs Andris to get back on track, and fast. But does he have anything left in the tank these days?
• Recapture the magic. The Warriors’ win against the Hornets in New Orleans was one of the biggest momentum changers of the season — instead of a 1-4 trip, they finished 2-3 and came home on a high note. But they haven’t beaten a good team since (unless you count the home win against the Clippers, and I don’t), and things are going to completely slip away unless they start beating some quality teams on this homestand. Will they react similarly with their backs once again up against the wall?

Sure, pulling out a win in Miami or Orlando would have been more impressive, but given their road record this year this definitely qualifies as a quality win. And with 14 of their next 18 games at home, this could be the spark that puts them on a path to stay in the race for the final playoff spot for a few more months.

What impressed me most was how they didn’t give up despite two horrible sequences. The Hornets run to close the third — after the Warriors had closed to 4 with just a few minutes remaining — was quickly countered in the opening minutes of the 4th. And after taking a 10 point lead in the closing minutes of the game, the Warriors proceeded to turn the ball over, give up an offensive rebound on a missed foul shot, and allow an uncontested layups to cut the lead to 2. But they never let the Hornets tie — thanks in part to a HUGE block by Dorell Wright on David West — and they were able to stem the bleeding and retake control of the game.

Looking at the net stats, I’ll give credit for the win to the incredible low number of turnovers from the Warriors. Despite being cleanly out-rebounded, the Warriors ended up with 5 more shot attempts from the field because they were able to hang onto the ball. The assist numbers also paint a pretty picture: they hit their season average but without anyone having more than 4, an indication of solid ball movement from everyone throughout the night.

And how about that Ekpe Udoh hook shot over David West in the back half of the 4th quarter?

So kudos to the team — I expected another blowout at the tail end of a road trip, but instead they persevered and beat a decent team on the road. Now let’s see if they can build on this!

The good news is that the Warriors are expecting to have their full roster tonight, so hopefully that will help them overcome their usual final-game-of-the-trip letdown. To win tonight, they’ll need to match the fast starts they’ve had in their last three games, but then keep up that energy through to the end. Or, in the immortal words of Mike Singletary, “FINISH!”