Warriors rally in fourth to beat Hornets 110-103

(01-06) 04:00 PST New Orleans - --

Ekpe Udoh is officially allowed to sit at the grown-ups' table.

"Ekpe is now off of liquids and onto baby soft peas," Warriors coach Keith Smart said. "The young man is growing leaps and bounds. When he made that move down there, he was patient and his eyes didn't get big. He kept nice small pupils and made a great play against an All-Star.

"That's why the future is looking bright for him."

And maybe even for the Warriors, who on Wednesday had a completely healthy roster for the first time since April 2008, yet in one of the clutch moments of the fourth quarter, they went to a guy who was playing in only his 12th NBA game.

Udoh patiently backed down David West, gave a quick shimmy and made a right-handed hook that gave the Warriors a seven-point lead in a 110-103 victory over New Orleans and made Golden State start thinking about the bigger picture.

"Ah, that was nice. I didn't know he had that in him," guard Monta Ellis said.

"We've been dying for" a low block scorer, Smart said. "That's what every team wants. When you have guys who can make plays on the perimeter and you add a guy who is developing as a patient guy with his back to the basket, you've got something."

The Warriors (14-21) have been playing well for the better part of two weeks, winning five of eight games and heading home to play 18 of their next 22. One of the biggest flaws in late-game losses has been a lack of a post player to slow the game and get baskets.

Enter Udoh.

"It's not just tonight. Every night he is showing what he can be in this league," forward Vladimir Radmanovic said. "It's going to take some time to build up confidence, but he's going to live up to the expectations of being the No. 6 pick. He's the future of this team."

Udoh's basket gave the Warriors a 96-89 lead with 5:20 remaining, but the play wouldn't have been possible without Radmanovic. He entered with 9:23 remaining in the third quarter and the Warriors trailing 64-51.

With Radmanovic's ability to push the tempo and stretch the floor, the Warriors closed the gap to four, 72-68, on his three-pointer with 3:19 left in the third. After New Orleans pushed its lead back to 12 points, Radmanovic highlighted a 12-2 run by blocking a shot on one end and racing out for a fast-break dunk on the other to make it 84-82 Hornets with 9:49 left in the fourth.

The Warriors' backcourt, Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry, combined for 50 points and only three turnovers on a night when the team had a season-low eight turnovers. Dorell Wright and David Lee each had 13 points.

"That was a huge win for us," Curry said. "It was huge for our morale and our confidence. We're going home and we have a healthy team, and now we've got to keep it going in the right direction."

E-mail Rusty Simmons at rsimmons@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle