Stephen Curry muscled his way to two points in the Oct. 22 game against New Orleans. (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Stephen Curry saved his best for last, ending the Warriors’ eight-game preseason by helping his team to a 126-92 win over the New Orleans Hornets Thursday night in California.  The Warriors’ rookie guard scored 14 points, and totaled 10 assists and six rebounds.

“My main focus is to push the tempo with my fresh legs when I’m coming off the bench,” Curry said on Warriors.com after the game.  “As a result I found myself in the lane a lot more tonight in being able to make cross-court passes to guys.”

Stephen Curry scored on the up and under against the Hornets at the Oracle Arena. (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Curry, a Davidson College star who went No. 7 in the 2009 NBA draft, had been struggling with his shot.  He broke out of his slump Thursday, playing 38 minutes and leading his team in assists and steals.

“I thought the difference was Curry,” said Warriors coach Don Nelson in quotes posted on the Warriors website. “When we inserted him into the lineup we immediately started to move the ball better and pushed the ball and do all the things that I’ve been trying to do. I was really happy to see him do that, and he got his shot back a little bit so that was good to see as well. The little guy is good.”

Curry started in only one of the exhibition games, but Coach Nelson implied that more starts could be in Curry’s future as the Warriors prepare for their regular season.

“We’ve got five days to make some decisions on who’s going to start back there with Monta (Ellis),” Nelson said Friday.  “We’ll look closely at Curry when the situation is right, when we’re not facing some big post-up guards. He’s my best passer and we expect that he’s going to be an outstanding passer someday.”

EXHIBITION STATS

The win at home Thursday put the Warriors at a 4-4 record for exhibition games.  The Warriors were led by Anthony Morrow, who scored 34 points Thursday and averaged 22 points per game for the preseason.

Friday, J.E. Skeets of Yahoo Sports gave Curry 5/1 odds to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award.

Curry ended his preseason play averaging 10 points per game, but showing only a .366 field goal percentage (30-82), and a dismal .222  percentage (6-27) in three point shooting . However, he was 2nd in the NBA in steals, with a total of 19 for eight games, and 6th in assists, totaling 49.  Among the 39 rookies, Curry was 15th in scoring.  On his team, he finished ninth in points per game.

SO WHEN DO THEY PLAY THE BOBCATS?

The Warriors open their regular season with a home game Wednesday against Houston.

It won’t be until Saturday, March 6, that the Warriors will be in town for a 47 p.m. game in Charlotte.  In the meantime, the regular season will include 11 nationally televised games, 6 on ESPN, 3 on NBA TV and 2 on TNT.

The next nationally televised game will be the Sunday, Nov. 8 match between the Warriors and Sacramento.

The Bobcats will play on the Warriors home court on Friday, Jan. 29.

Click here for the full Warriors schedule.