Spurs at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors enter the stretch run with the best record in the NBA and are four games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Warriors will hope that momentum carried through the long All-Star break when they host the defending-champion San Antonio Spurs on Friday. The Spurs are playing their second game in as many nights after falling at the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
San Antonio is playing the fifth of nine straight games on the road as it gears up for its own playoff push and battled hard before ultimately falling 119-115 in Los Angeles. Golden State and the Spurs both stayed out of the action during an extremely busy NBA trade deadline Thursday, instead trusting the chemistry that made each team successful over the last few months. “I didn’t expect to do anything, and I’m glad we didn’t,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “The continuity of what we have here is more important than any trade-deadline deal you could make. I’m thrilled we stood pat.”
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, KENS (San Antonio), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE SPURS (34-20): San Antonio has dominated Golden State over the last decade-plus and owns one of only two wins by opposing teams at the Warriors this season with a 113-100 triumph Nov. 11. The Spurs dropped to 2-2 on their trip with Thursday’s setback and are just 14-13 on the road overall. Tim Duncan turned in 30 points and 11 rebounds while Tony Parker went for 21 points and 13 assists against the Clippers, but both played at least 33 minutes.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (42-9): Golden State won three straight to finish out a four-game road trip heading into the break and is making a brief stop at home before heading out for a six-game road trip. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson spent last weekend in New York for the NBA All-Star festivities — with Curry beating Thompson and the rest of the field in the 3-point shootout — and both quickly turned the page back to the business of chasing a championship. “We’re trying to go deep in the playoffs this season,” Thompson told the San Francisco Chronicle. “We’re trying to do big things. We don’t really have to change much. We just have to trust each other, play unselfishly, play defense and continue to be the explosive offensive team that everybody falls in love with.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. San Antonio has taken 22 of the last 24 regular-season meetings.
2. Golden State F Draymond Green grabbed at least 13 rebounds in three of the last four games.
3. Spurs F Kawhi Leonard is 12-of-52 from the field over the last four games, including 2-of-15 from 3-point range.