Warriors at Hornets
The last time Kevin Durant was in Charlotte, he was winning MVP at the All-Star Game by leading Team LeBron past Golden State Warriors teammate and North Carolina native Stephen Curry on Team Giannis. Durant and Curry will try to work together in Charlotte on Monday when the Warriors visit the Hornets.
Golden State is still getting used to playing with center DeMarcus Cousins, and there was one point in Saturday's 118-112 home loss to the Houston Rockets that saw Cousins and Durant exchange words about missed assignments on the defensive end. "Sure, he's frustrated," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters of Cousins. "Think about what DeMarcus has been through with the year-long injury and the frustrating free agency. So, it's not an easy thing, a very difficult injury to come back from. After the first couple weeks, the excitement, the adrenaline, the wear and tear begins and that's where you really got to be able to rely on execution. So, we'll work with him; he can do better, he knows that." The Hornets are fighting for a spot in the top eight of the Eastern Conference and fell to a team in front of them in the standings with a 117-115 home loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. "I think the hardest thing is trying to put this one behind you," Charlotte forward Marvin Williams told reporters after his team battled back from a 19-point deficit only to fall in the final seconds. "Take nothing away from Brooklyn. They came with their A-game. We played well enough to win that game too. It's disappointing, man, it's going to be a tough night."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Bay Area (Golden State), FS Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (42-17): Golden State forward Draymond Green went down with a sprained left ankle in Saturday's loss, but the team doesn't seem overly concerned that he might miss some time. "He'll be back for the playoffs," Durant told reporters. "I mean, that's the only thing we worry about here, right?" Warriors All-Stars Durant, Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 74 points on Saturday while Cousins and Green combined for 17 on 6-of-18 shooting.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (28-31): Charlotte had its own representative at the All-Star Game in point guard Kemba Walker, who started alongside Curry in the backcourt for Team Giannis. Walker looked like an All-Star in trying to drag his team to victory on Saturday with 32 points but had his 3-point attempt at the buzzer blocked on a play the Hornets felt should have been called a foul. "We put ourselves in position to win," Charlotte coach James Borego told reporters. "It's not easy out there. I understand it's a tough game to call, but this is extremely frustrating for our team."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets PG Tony Parker scored 21 points on Saturday - his highest total since putting up a season-high 24 at Detroit on Nov. 11.
2. Curry went 6-of-23 from the floor in the All-Star Game but is 21-of-41 in two games since the break.
3. Golden State earned a 101-87 victory at Charlotte last season despite Curry missing the game.