Hornets-Warriors Preview
It's unclear whether Stephen Curry will be available Monday night after re-injuring his left leg his last time out.
There's little doubt he'll want to be on the court considering that his father will be in the building.
Curry usually shines against his hometown Charlotte Hornets, who figure to be hard-pressed to stop the Golden State Warriors' 34-game regular-season home win streak.
The primary concern Monday is whether Curry will be on the floor. He returned from a two-game absence Saturday but left after playing 14 minutes when he injured his leg again in a 111-108 overtime home win over Denver.
''I just re-injured the same thing, so I'll be all right,'' Curry said. ''I know exactly what it is. Whenever you hurt something and you try to play through a little bit of discomfort and just get out there, it's usually a magnet for something to happen.''
Curry is listed as questionable.
The reigning league MVP spent Sunday afternoon at the San Francisco 49ers' game with father Dell, one of the original Hornets and currently a broadcaster for Charlotte.
Stephen Curry grew up in Charlotte and is averaging 27.0 points against the Hornets for his second-best mark against any club. He enjoys playing in front of his father, upstaging "Dell Curry Night" in Charlotte on Dec. 2 by scoring 40 points in three quarters in a 116-99 victory. That outburst included the Warriors' final 24 points of the third.
Golden State (31-2) may finally get Harrison Barnes, listed as probable, back from his 16-game absence from a sprained left ankle. Brandon Rush is probable as well after he sat out Saturday due to right hamstring tightness.
Festus Ezeli will likely miss his fourth straight game with a sore left toe.
Charlotte (17-16) likely won't have any sympathy since it just lost center Al Jefferson with a torn knee ligament for an extended period of time.
Three Hornets are questionable Monday in starting guard Nicolas Batum (toe strain), reserve guard Jeremy Lin (ankle sprain) and backup center Spencer Hawes (low back tightness).
Charlotte starts a four-game trip seeking to avoid its first four-game slide. Losers of six of eight, the Hornets fell 109-90 at home to Oklahoma City on Saturday despite 32 points from Kemba Walker.
"Obviously we're missing some guys but our energy level is good but it's just our defense and our rebounding," coach Steve Clifford said. "When we start to get our defense going again, then we'll win again."
Batum sat out Saturday with Lin replacing him in the lineup. Lin came back after he missed two games with a sprained right ankle.
Walker is averaging 27.8 points in his last five games overall, but has been limited to 8.0 on 21.1 percent from the field in his past four against the Warriors. He had a season-low four points on 2-of-16 shooting in last month's loss.
Golden State can move closer to Chicago's record 44-game home win streak from 1995-96. The Warriors built a 24-point lead after one quarter Saturday and looked like a different team once Curry went down.
Draymond Green posted his NBA-best sixth triple-double with 29 points, 17 boards and 14 assists as he matched a season high with five 3-pointers.
Klay Thompson scored 26 points two nights after he had 38 in a win at Houston.