Warriors at Trail Blazers
The Golden State Warriors are one of the few teams with something still to be decided - both individual and team - in the final game of the regular season. The Warriors will be trying to lock up the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, and Stephen Curry will take aim at the single-season record for made 3-pointers when Golden State visits the fading Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. The Blazers need a win to avoid tying the franchise’s longest slide.
Portland dropped its 12th straight at the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday and has not had its full complement of players lately. LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle), Wesley Matthews (ankle) and Nicolas Batum (shoulder) have all missed multiple games. Aldridge and Matthews are still listed as day-to-day, but Batum will not be available for the season finale. The Warriors might not have Andrew Bogut (ankle) on Wednesday but should be fine as long as Curry stays healthy. The star guard needs two 3-pointers to break Ray Allen’s record of 269 set in 2005-06.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Cox SportsNet Bay Area-plus (Golden State), KGW (Portland)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (46-35): Golden State controls its own destiny for the No. 6 seed and owns a one-game lead over the Houston Rockets for the spot. The Rockets, who own the tiebreaker over the Warriors, end their season at the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. The Warriors snapped a two-game slide behind seven 3-pointers and 35 points from Curry in a 116-106 triumph over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. Curry has gone 16-for-28 from beyond the arc in the last two contests to pull right behind Allen’s record. Golden State expects to have Bogut for the playoffs and could even give the big man a few minutes on Wednesday. If not, rookie Festus Ezeli is likely to get the starting spot again. Ezeli grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds against the Spurs on Monday and gained plenty of experience with the starting unit when Bogut was out the first half of the season. Helping to keep defenses from double-teaming Curry has been Klay Thompson, who is third in the NBA with 206 made 3-pointers and has averaged 24 points in the last two games.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (33-48): Portland is on the verge of matching the franchise record for consecutive losses set in the 1971-72 season. The Blazers barely put up a fight in a 93-77 loss to the Clippers on Tuesday and have allowed an average of 107.7 points during their slide. One of the worst defeats in that span was a 125-98 setback at Golden State on March 30. Aldridge sat out that contest and the Portland defense could not contain Curry, who went off for 39 points and seven 3-pointers. The lone benefit of the lengthy slide and the injured starters has been the increased playing time for a group of rookies. Will Barton has stood out by averaging 16.6 points in the last five contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors have taken both meetings this season but have not won in Portland since April 5, 2011.
2. Blazers rookie F Joel Freeland scored a season-high 13 points in the loss to the Clippers.
3. Golden State F Draymond Green (knee) sat out the last two games and is questionable for Wednesday.