Warriors at Nuggets
The Golden State Warriors locked up the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and clinched the fifth 50-win season in franchise history on Monday, but questions about health remain. The Warriors will close out their regular season at the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday without center Andrew Bogut, who is out indefinitely with a broken rib. Bogut likely won’t be the only Golden State player getting a rest with the playoffs secure.
A year ago the Nuggets were getting ready to host the Warriors in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs as the No. 3 seed, a series they would ultimately lose. Denver did not have the same success this season and will miss the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. The Nuggets have not rolled over down the stretch despite being well out of the race and beat Golden State 100-99 on the road Thursday when Kenneth Faried knocked down a turnaround in the lane with 0.5 seconds left. Bogut suffered the rib injury in that meeting due to an elbow from Faried.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (50-31): Stephen Curry hit a go-ahead floater with 4.7 seconds left against the Nuggets last week before Faried’s game-winner and is carrying Golden State over the last week. Curry went for 32 points and 15 assists in a 130-120 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday and has scored 30 or more points in three straight games for the first time in his career. “I sat in my office and I’m thinking, ‘OK, I know they’re going to ask about Steph. What can I say that I haven’t said yet?' ” coach Mark Jackson told reporters. “I might as well admit I’m on empty.” Curry got plenty of help against the Timberwolves from Draymond Green, who will be relied upon heavily until Bogut returns.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (36-45): Denver is playing the second night of a back-to-back after trying to run with the Los Angeles Clippers and falling short 117-105 on Tuesday. The Nuggets are looking at individual performances down the stretch and are getting some good ones from Faried, who scored 21 points Tuesday and is averaging 20.4 points and 13.2 rebounds over the last five. Timofey Mozgov provides an intriguing complement in the frontcourt and went for 23 points and an NBA season-high 29 rebounds in the win over Golden State last week.
WALK-OFFS
1. Warriors F David Lee went 12-of-14 from the floor on Monday after shooting 6-of-21 in his previous two games.
2. Denver G Randy Foye had a string of five straight games with multiple 3-pointers come to an end with an 0-for-7 effort on Tuesday.
3. Curry hit seven 3-pointers in each of the last two games but would need 11 on Wednesday to match his NBA record of 272 from last season.