Dubs’ win gives them the sixth seed — for now.

While Steph Curry impacted this game more through his passing than his scoring (although 21 points is nothing to scoff at), it was on a specific three-point set — in which he paired up with Jimmy Butler on an off-ball screening action — that shined a light on the Charlote Hornets’ coverages and dictated how they defended Curry the rest of the night.

The set involving the Golden State Warriors’ two main options predates Butler. But its potency — already enhanced by the willingness of Curry to set a screen — is magnified through Butler’s involvement. It starts with a standard wing handoff into reversal up top, a common way to initiate sets:

After Draymond Green receives the ball reversal, he swings it to the lifting Brandin Podziemski — with Curry making his way to the middle of the paint, in preparation for the “rip” screen (i.e., a backscreen) that Butler is about to receive. With Curry setting the screen for a notoriously dangerous cutter and paint scorer, the defense has plenty of things to think about in terms of coverages:

1. Do we switch?
2. Do we stay home?
3. Do we double the cutter (Butler) or the screener (Curry) coming off of the subsequent screen up top?

The Hornets opted for option two. Curry’s man stays attached, with Butler’s man — not worried about Butler’s ability to snipe from beyond the arc — preemptively sagging off to cover Butler’s cut.

With Curry getting ready to come off of the away screen by Green, watch where Hornets center Mark Williams is at that particular point:

Pointing behind him with at least an eye directed toward the action up top probably means Williams is wary of the Butler cut — a cut that is completely covered, with no need for Williams to drop so far back that Josh Green is caught between a rock and a hard place. Draymond catches Josh cleanly on the meeting of the two Greens, leaving Curry wide open for arguably the easiest three of his night:

As if a collective switch was flipped, the Hornets did not waste time after giving up the shot above. Curry saw aggressive coverages thrown his way the rest of the night, especially when coming off of screens both on and off the ball. It significantly explained Curry’s double-figure assist night in which he dished out 10 dimes.

The Hornets were hell-bent on getting the ball out of Curry’s hands, whether it was through outright doubles or multiple bodies pinching in to crowd his drives. In response, Curry had perhaps one of his best passing nights of the season:

The set that got Curry the open three — called “Twirl” by Steve Kerr, who does a twirling motion with his index finger to call out the play — was also run for Buddy Hield in the second half:

Hield takes over the Curry role of setting the rip screen for Butler. Taking the three coverage options mentioned above in mind, watch how the Hornets defend the action this time around:

In choosing option three listed above, the Hornets end up having two defenders gravitating toward Butler’s cut:

Which ends in Hield — like Curry before him — being unguarded around the Looney screen, with Williams once again dropping far back in the paint to cover Butler’s excursion inside:

In the same manner that Curry’s “Twirl” three was predictive and consequential in terms of the Hornets’ coverages, Hield’s “Twirl” three put the Hornets in high alert. Hield was monitored almost exclusively off the ball, with his off-ball movement creating open looks for teammates — in particular, Podziemski, who was able to capitalize.

Unexpectedly struggling against a Hornets defense that coughs up 115.4 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage time (18th in the NBA), the Warriors’ offense was boosted by Curry and Hield running off of “Twirl,” creating coverage confusion, chaos, and most importantly, a crucial win, one that gave them sole possession of the sixth seed as they head into a tough matchup against the New York Knicks.