National Basketball Association

Warriors-Bobcats Preview

Published Dec. 8, 2013 2:33 p.m. ET

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While Klay Thompson and David Lee have regained their shooting touch, the Golden State Warriors are hoping to build on the defensive effort that helped get them back on track.

That might not be particularly difficult against the NBA's worst offensive club.

The Warriors will try to win for the fourth time in five games on Monday night when they visit the Charlotte Bobcats, who look to end their 14-game drought against Western Conference opponents.

After they combined for only 16 points in a 105-83 loss at Houston on Friday, Thompson and Lee teamed up to score 53 while Stephen Curry added 22 and matched a career high with 15 assists in a 108-82 win at Memphis on Saturday.

Thompson finished with 30 points and three 3-pointers and Lee added 23 points and 11 rebounds to help the Warriors (12-9) snap an 11-game losing streak to the Grizzlies.

Golden State made its biggest strides on the defensive end, limiting short-handed Memphis to 39 points in the second half and 36.5 percent shooting for the game.

The Warriors allowed 107.3 points and a 45.8 field-goal percentage over their previous seven contests.

"That's who we are," coach Mark Jackson said. "We're built on the defensive end. It's very positive that we got back to that. We paid attention to the details."

Jackson's club appears to be a good position to continue that effort against a Charlotte team that ranks last in the NBA in scoring average (89.6), field-goal percentage (41.2) and 3-point percentage (28.7).

The Bobcats (9-11), however, are coming off one of their best offensive showings of the season. Despite missing 17 of 21 from beyond the arc, they shot 46.2 percent overall and scored their most points of the season in a 105-88 win over Philadelphia on Friday.

Jeffery Taylor led six Bobcats in double figures, matching a career high with 20 points and eight rebounds. The 2012 second-round draft pick is expected to play a prominent role with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist out at least four weeks because of a broken left hand.

''He's a talented guy,'' coach Steve Clifford said of the 24-year-old Taylor. ''He's at that age where guys make the biggest jump. Certainly he has the size, athleticism and intelligence to get his game to the next level. And he's a hard worker.''

The Bobcats have held opponents under 100 points for league-high 13 consecutive games, allowing an average of 88.8 points and a 41.4 field-goal percentage.

They could have a difficult time extending that streak against the Warriors, who have averaged 111.7 points on 50.6 percent shooting in their past three wins.

Charlotte has dropped 14 straight games to West opponents by an average of 18.1 points. The Bobcats have lost 28 of 29 interconference games.

Curry scored 27 points in each game while hitting 12 of 20 from 3-point range to lead the Warriors to a sweep of last season's series. He's made 26 of 42 from 3-point range in six career meetings with Charlotte.

Lee also has played well against the Bobcats, averaging 24.0 points and 12.7 rebounds in his last three matchups.

Charlotte's Kemba Walker, who had 18 points and a season-high 10 assists in Friday's win, has averaged 21.0 points in three career games against the Warriors.

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