With no hoops on the calendar, Warriors Wire is rewinding the tape back through Golden State’s history for memorable matchups, standout performances and everything else in between.
Early in the 1994-95 season, a budding star linked up with a proven veteran to carry Don Nelson’s group against a pair of future Hall of Famers.
November 11, 1994
Before their matchup with the Western Conference power Utah Jazz tipped off, the Warriors were understaffed. After suffering a knee injury in the offseason, Golden State was without Chris Mullin against Karl Malone and John Stockton.
However, a pair of Warriors combined for a steady performance against Utah’s pair of perennial All-Stars. Run TMC point guard Tim Hardaway tallied 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field with five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Helping with his 30-point effort, Hardaway got hot from beyond the arc, hitting 6-of-10 attempts from long distance.
Following his point guard’s lead, Latrell Sprewell notched 30 points on his own on 10-of-20 shooting from the field. Sprewell added seven rebounds, four assists and a block.
Outside of Sprewell and Hardaway, Ricky Pierce was the only other member of the Warriors to record double-figure scoring numbers against the Jazz. Pierce tacked on 21 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 29 minutes off the bench.
Despite double-doubles from both Stockton and Malone, the 60 combined points from Hardaway and Sprewell was enough to close out the Jazz, 112-104.
Sprewell’s 30 point night against the Jazz was the first of 13 games where he racked up 30 or more points. In 1994-95, Sprewell went on to represent the Warriors in the NBA All-Star Game for the second consecutive season.
After recovering from a knee injury in the previous year, Hardaway’s 1994-95 season was his final full season in Golden State before being traded to the Miami Heat at the deadline in 1996.
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