Warriors at Suns
The Golden State Warriors are on the verge of clinching a playoff spot and are hanging onto the No.6 spot in the Western Conference despite a hard challenge from the Houston Rockets. The Warriors will be hoping to stay clear of the Rockets when they visit the Phoenix Suns on Friday. The Suns are in last place in the West and have dropped seven straight. Golden State will be trying to sweep the season series.
The Warriors are a game up on the Rockets and 4 1/2 ahead of the ninth-place Utah Jazz with seven games left on the schedule. Golden State just finished up a 4-1 homestand and showed off some impressive balance with Stephen Curry and David Lee sharing the scoring burden with Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry. Phoenix has allowed an average of 112.8 points in the last six games, capped off by a 126-101 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. The Suns have been awful on the road but have not been much better at home of late, dropping five straight in their own arena.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSBA (Golden State), FSAZ (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (43-32): Golden State has been cruising right along and has the schedule in its favor the rest of the way. The Warriors will play four of their final six at home after finishing with the Suns and have a chance to determine their own destiny with meetings still left against the Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers. Lee posted his NBA-leading 50th double-double with 23 points and 16 rebounds and Curry added 20 points and nine assists as Golden State easily dispatched the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday. “There are great leaders on this team that see the finish line,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson told reporters after the win. "They sense it, and they’re doing a great job of keeping their foot on the gas pedal, running through the rope.” Curry went 4-of-10 from 3-point range in the win and has hit at least three from beyond the arc in seven of the last eight games. Curry only hit two 3-pointers in the last meeting with Phoenix on Feb. 20 but went 8-of-16 from the field and finished with 20 points and 11 assists in a 108-98 win.
ABOUT THE SUNS (23-52): Phoenix has been in player development mode for the last month, even going so far as to sit Goran Dragic for back-to-back days to rest the veteran and get a look at rookie point guard Kendall Marshall. While Dragic’s play has been one of the highlights during an otherwise lost season, the Suns’ defense has been a work in progress. Phoenix ranks among the bottom handful of teams in average points allowed and let the Clippers shoot 55.9 percent on Wednesday. The Suns are still showing some fight, however. Dragic got into a verbal spat with Los Angeles center Ryan Hollins, who put the point guard in a headlock and would not let go of his jersey. Dragic did not back down, and Phoenix will try to carry that energy through the rest of the regular season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Suns F Wesley Johnson has scored in double figures in five straight games, averaging 17.6 points in that span.
2. Curry has shot 40 percent from 3-point range in 14 career games against Phoenix.
3. Golden State G Klay Thompson is shooting 20 percent from the field in the last three games.