Warriors at Bobcats
THE STORY: Charlotte takes a six-game losing streak into its home game Saturday night against Golden State. The Bobcats, who will play their third game in three nights, got a lecture from owner Michael Jordan after Friday's 98-81 loss to Detroit. "He just came in the locker room and said we have to play better than that," said center Boris Diaw. Jordan wasn't the only person who didn't like what he saw from the Bobcats. "I saw a team that dominated us inside," coach Paul Silas said. "We’ve got to have more toughness and we didn’t. It’s just not a good sign for us." Golden State starts a four-game road trip Saturday. The Warriors dropped a 117-109 decision to Orlando on Thursday, a game in which the Magic's Dwight Howard set an NBA record for most free throw attempts in a game, making 21 of 39. While Golden State coach Mark Jackson's strategy resulted in 18 missed free throws, Howard still scored 45 points. "We took a chance and said that we want Dwight to beat us and he beat us," Warriors forward David Lee said.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Comcast Sports Bay Area (Golden State), Sports South Charlotte (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (3-7): Golden State is 0-3 on the road, but this trip isn't imposing, at least on paper. All four teams the Warriors will play - Charlotte, Detroit, Cleveland and New Jersey - are under .500. The bad news about the trip is Golden State will continue to play shorthanded. Starters Stephen Curry (sprained ankle) and Dorell Wright (strained knee) are out. Curry is expected to miss the game while Wright is listed as day-to-day. Kwame Brown could miss the remainder of the season with a chest injury.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (2-10): Byron Mullens continues to play well for Charlotte. He scored 18 points Friday and has reached double figures eight times in the last 10 games. Rookie Kemba Walker scored 16 points while D.J. Augustin had 13 assists. Other than that, it was easy to see why Jordan and Silas were fuming about the way their team played. The Bobcats were outrebounded 46-34 and outscored in the paint 52-36. Charlotte has lost 10 of 11 since winning its season opener.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Bobcats haven’t lost seven straight games since Nov. 7-20, 2009. Charlotte lost six in a row twice last season.
2. The Warriors' three road losses to Phoenix, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers have been by a total of 24 points.
3. Charlotte has won four of the last five meetings against Golden State.