The Golden State Warriors were looking to get a jump start on their four-game round trip against the struggling Charlotte Bobcats, but ran into a buzzsaw of offense as rookie Kemba Walker dropped a career-high 23 points in his first NBA start to help lift Charlotte to a 112-100 victory over Golden State at the Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday.
The Bobcats (3-10) were stuck in a six-game losing streak until the W’s came to town, despite the best efforts of David Lee. Lee had another nice game, finishing with 24 points and 16 boards, while Dorell Wright and Nate Robinson each added 12 points apiece for the Warriors (3-8), who began their roadie with a flop instead of a bang.
Gerald Henderson led all scorers with 26, Byron Mullens added 20, while D.J. Augustin added 16 as well; only Tyrus Thomas scored less than double-digits as a starter.
Monta Ellis struggled mightily this evening, shooting only 23% (6-26) from the floor, finishing with 18. Andris Biedrins had 8 and 6 rebounds.
The W’s now head to Detroit to take on the Pistons tomorrow, with tip-off set for 3:00 pm PT.
For more on the W’s head over to Golden State of Mind.