Al Jefferson dominates as Bobcats stun Warriors with pumelling

Jefferson scored 30 and grabbed 13 rebounds and Kemba Walker made his return after a seven-game absence as Charlotte held Golden State of their worst performances in a decade, winning away 91-75 on Tuesday.

Al Jefferson scored a team-best 30 points for the Bobcats on Tuesday night. Mark J Terrill / AP

OAKLAND, United States // The Charlotte Bobcats closed out a critical road trip with a 3-1 record by turning in the best – or perhaps the most fortunate, depending on the perspective – defensive performance any team has had against the Golden State Warriors in nearly a decade.

Al Jefferson had 30 points and 13 rebounds, Gerald Henderson added 17 points and eight rebounds, and the Bobcats blew past the Warriors 91-75 on Tuesday night in Kemba Walker’s much-anticipated return.

Charlotte, which shot 47.4 per cent, held the Warriors to 31.2 per cent shooting. It was the lowest shooting percentage Golden State has had since hitting only 27.5 per cent from the floor in a 96-67 loss to Memphis on November 12, 2004.

“We played well on the pick-and-roll, because those guys’ three-point shots are like layups,” Jefferson said. “You had to make sure they saw a body on the pick-and-roll.”

Walker finished with seven points, seven assists and six rebounds after missing the last seven games with a sprained left ankle. He played 33 minutes, leaving with a cramp in his calf in the fourth quarter. He said he felt fine afterward and just needed to get adjusted to playing prolonged minutes again.

The point guard’s comeback, though, quickly became an afterthought.

The Bobcats controlled the game from the start, going ahead by 18 points late in the third quarter and 22 midway through the fourth to embarrass the Warriors on their home floor.

Stephen Curry had 17 points and 11 assists against his hometown team, Klay Thompson scored 12 and Andrew Bogut grabbed 15 rebounds for the Warriors, who shot 4-of-20 from three-point range. Golden State also have been held below 38 per cent shooting from the floor in three of their past four games.

“We’ve got to find a way to get out of this,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “We are, right now, taking the life out of the building.”

The Warriors briefly gave their announced sellout crowd of 19,596 something to cheer when Marreese Speights made a half-court heave as the third quarter expired to slice Charlotte’s lead to 72-57. Any hope quickly faded when Anthony Tolliver hit a pair of three-pointers to put the Bobcats up 78-60 with 9:51 remaining.

“I thought we were really organised in our pick-and-roll defence. But listen, I’m sure that wasn’t their best, either,” Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. “I liked the way our guys played, though.”

Jackson had publicly called out his team last month for playing down to its opponents too often this season, especially at home. Apparently, his players still haven’t received the message.

The Bobcats (22-28) swept the season series against the Warriors (29-20) after beating Golden State 115-111 in Charlotte on December 9. And out West, they outhustled and outshot the Warriors from the start.

Charlotte ran Golden State’s prolific shooters off the three-point line, forcing them into difficult mid-range jumpers. The Bobcats were equally efficient on the offensive end, going ahead 26-13 after the first quarter.

The Warriors simply looked lost and lethargic. They hovered just above 20 per cent shooting for most of the first half, and their usually loud crowd stayed mostly silent.

“Offensively, we were horrible all the way around,” said forward David Lee, held to eight points on 3-for-13 shooting.

The Bobcats went ahead 44-27 with 3:42 left in the second quarter and 51-39 at halftime. It was only the third time all season the Warriors had been held below 40 points in the first half.

Golden State trimmed Charlotte’s lead to eight early in the third quarter on Thompson’s three-pointer. Clifford called timeout to regroup his players, who responded by building an 18-point lead before Speights hit a half-court shot as time expired to bring the Warriors to 72-57 entering the fourth.

That was pretty much the only celebration Charlotte allowed.

“We believed before we left Charlotte that this West Coast trip would either break us or help us,” Jefferson said. “We felt like this could’ve been the turning point of our season, and I felt like guys came focused.”

OTHER TUESDAY RESULTS

Pacers 89, Hawks 85

Indiana forwards Paul George and David West combined for 40 points and sparked a third-quarter uprising that enabled the Pacers to beat the Atlanta Hawks for their third straight win.

George scored nine of his 18 points and West had eight of his 22 points in the third quarter when the Pacers erased a one-point halftime deficit.

The Pacers (38-10) rallied for eight straight points to break open a 47-47 tie in the third quarter. Indiana guard Lance Stephenson was shaken up in the third when he fell awkwardly on his back and did not return.

Atlanta’s (25-22) top two scorers came off the bench. Forward Mike Scott scored 15 points after he was re-signed to a 10-day contract on February 1.

Bulls 101, Suns 92

The Chicago Bulls slowed things down against the fast-breaking Suns, shutting down the Phoenix three-point game in the process while forcing 21 turnovers in a win.

Carlos Boozer led the Bulls (24-24) with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Jimmy Butler and DJ Augustin, who hit two late, clutch three-pointers, each added 18 points.

The Suns (29-19) had their five-game win streak broken.

They were led by guard Goran Dragic, who had 24 points and seven rebounds.

The Bulls held the Suns to season lows of 13 points in the first quarter and 33 points in the first half.

Timberwolves 109, Lakers 99

Minnesota (24-24) dealt Los Angeles (16-32) their seventh straight loss as Kevin Love scored 31 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for the T-Wolves.

Kevin Martin added 32 points on 13-of-26 shooting nad Ricky Rubio dished 13 assists.

Nick Young led the Lakers with 24 points despite shooting only 4-of-12 and reserve point guard Manny Harrs scored 19 on 8-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds.