Spurs at Warriors
THE STORY: With little on the line in the regular season finale, San Antonio will again give its star players a bit of rest before the playoffs begin. The Western Conference-leading Spurs will be without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili when they travel to face the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. For the Warriors, losers of nine of 10, draft lottery implications are riding on their finale.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE SPURS (49-16): San Antonio was without its Big Three on Wednesday, yet a group of reserves produced a 110-106 win over Phoenix. The playoff picture in the West is not yet completely set but the Spurs already know they will face eighth-seeded Utah in the first round. The quest for the team’s fifth NBA title since 1999 will be headed by point guard Tony Parker, who is enjoying an MVP-type campaign with 18.3 points and a career-best 7.7 assists.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (23-42): First-year coach Mark Jackson promised before the season began that the Warriors would make the playoffs. His guarantee did not come to fruition as the Warriors struggled through a fourth straight losing campaign and fifth in a row without a postseason berth. One more loss would leave the Warriors with the seventh-best chance in the lottery. If Golden State ends up with a pick outside the top seven, that pick would be shipped to Utah to complete a previous trade.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. San Antonio can still clinch top spot in the NBA - and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs - with a win and a Chicago loss to Cleveland. The Spurs and Bulls enter Thursday tied atop the standings, while Chicago owns the tiebreaker.
2. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will miss his second straight game due to personal reasons. Lead assistant Mike Budenholzer will again assume the reins.
3. Rookie point guard Charles Jenkins is making a nice late impression for the Warriors, averaging 13.2 points and 9.6 assists his past five games.