Warriors at Wizards
For one night, the Golden State Warriors looked a lot like the team that went to five straight NBA Finals and won three championships in the past five seasons. The Warriors will try to show off that form again and earn back-to-back wins when they visit the Washington Wizards on Monday.
Golden State shot 53.3 percent from the floor and totaled 39 assists on 48 made field goals while knocking down 18 3-pointers in a 131-112 victory at Cleveland on Saturday - numbers that were commonplace when Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston were still around. The victory snapped the NBA-worst Warriors' latest slide at five straight as seven players scored in double figures in a balanced effort the team hopes will become more consistent as the young roster continues to jell. The Wizards picked up wins in each of their last two games and improved to .500 at home with a 113-107 triumph over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. "We are comfortable (at home)," Washington coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "Our crowd's great. It was good atmosphere tonight. They want to see effort and they're getting it. ... We are playing as hard as we can. We are not the perfect basketball team; guys aren't always going to play (well) but their effort has been pretty consistent."
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Bay Area, NBCS Washington
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (11-39): Forward Draymond Green is the lone key player remaining from the team's recent championship core and he matched a career high with 16 assists on Saturday while adding seven rebounds and knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. "When he's playing like that, pushing the ball in transition, he's putting a lot of pressure on the defense," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters of Green. "He sets a really good tone for us when he plays with that kind of pace." Instead of dishing to Curry (hand) and Thompson (knee), Green helped forward Glenn Robinson III and guard Damion Lee combine to go 17-of-24 from the field on Saturday.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (17-31): Wizards guard Bradley Beal was miffed about not being included on the All-Star team when reserves were announced on Thursday and responded with 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a win over Charlotte that night before scoring 34 again in Saturday's triumph. Beal scored 15 points in the final seven minutes against the Nets and posted at least 34 in each of the last six contests, including a pair of 40-plus efforts. Center Thomas Bryant added 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench on Saturday and is averaging 18.7 points and 9.3 boards over the last three contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Curry, who has been out since Oct. 30, will be reevaluated in four weeks and still intends to return this season.
2. Wizards PF Rui Hachimura (groin) sat out the last 23 games but is practicing with the team and could return Monday.
3. Golden State owns a five-game winning streak in the series and recorded a 126-118 triumph at Washington last season behind 38 points from Curry.