Charlotte, NC – Stephen Curry and David Lee combined for 52 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 104-96 wire-to-wire win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday.
Curry finished with 27 points to go along with seven assists and Lee had 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting and 11 boards. Carl Landry had 16 points and Jarrett Jack scored 12 for the Warriors, winners in four straight.
"That first half was a thing of beauty. We defended, we paid attention to detail and we executed," said Warriors coach Mark Jackson. "In the second half we let our foot off the gas pedal on both sides of the basketball, but that first half was outstanding."
Kemba Walker dropped in 24 points to go with six assists and Michael Kidd- Gilchrist had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Bobcats, who have dropped eight straight.
"When you lose consecutive games like we have the value of a shot for a player appears to be 10 and not two or three," said Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap.
Golden State opened up a commanding 38-23 lead after the first 12 minutes. Harrison Barnes' runner sparked a 21-8 run to put the Warriors up 28-13 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the frame. The Bobcats managed to cut the lead to 32-23 following Ramon Sessions' 3-pointer at the 2:13 mark, but Golden State scored the final six points of the quarter.
The Warriors' lead swelled to 21 in the second quarter, and Golden State led 58-40 at the break. The Bobcats shot a pitiful 26.7 percent from the floor in the period and went 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
Curry dropped in 15 points in the third after going 3-for-3 from long range. Charlotte worked the deficit down to 13 with just over a minute remaining in the stanza, but the Warriors closed the frame on a mini 6-0 burst.
The Bobcats outscored Golden State 22-11 over the final 12 minutes, but it wasn't nearly enough for Charlotte, which shot just 37.3 percent from the floor.
Game Notes
Lee scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half on 7-of-9 shooting ... Curry was 4-for-7 from 3-point range ... Warriors guard Klay Thompson had 10 points and six assists ... Bobcats guard Ben Gordon scored 14 points off the bench and was 3-for-6 from long range ... Charlotte has not won since matching its win total (seven) from last season.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.