NC State Too Much for Stanford on the Road by Aaron Candelaria

December 18, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Jarrett Jack (2) dribbles the ball against New Orleans Hornets shooting guard Austin Rivers (25, right) during the fourth quarter at ORACLE Arena. The Warriors defeated the Hornets 103-96. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Coming off of a 6-1 road trip, the Golden State Warriors returned to Oracle Arena and beat the lowly Hornets 103-96 to advance to 17-8.

David Lee led the way yet again for the Warriors, scoring 26 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry both had excellent games off the bench against their former team. Jack recorded his first double-double of the season (16 points, 10 assists) while Landry chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds.

Golden State opened up a 31-21 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led by nine at halftime. Klay Thompson had 14 points in the first half, finishing with 19.

However, the Hornets hung around and never let the game get away from them. They may have been 5-18 entering the night, but they were no pushover.

Trailing by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter, New Orleans went on a furious run to get themselves right back in the game. No. 1-overall draft pick Anthony Davis led the way, scoring on a jumper, then finished a three-point play to tie the game at 92-92 with 4:07 remaining. Davis had a superb night, finishing with 15 points and 16 rebounds, making all seven of his free throws.

All that energy spent making a comeback hurt the Hornets down the stretch, when things mattered most. The Warriors went on a mini 6-0 run after Davis’ tying free throw to take a 98-92 lead. They would make their free throws in the final minutes and hang on for the victory in front of a sellout crowd.

Golden State will head down to Sacramento tomorrow to play the Kings, another team struggling through the season.