Warriors at Thunder
The Golden State Warriors would like the top seed in the Western Conference heading into the playoffs, but health and rhythm are the two most important things for the two-time defending champions down the stretch. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who host the Warriors on Saturday, are fighting for homecourt advantage in the first round after a recent swoon while trying to find their own rhythm.
Golden State is missing the mark on its health goal as superstar forward Kevin Durant battles an ankle injury that kept him out Wednesday and leaves him questionable for Saturday, but center DeMarcus Cousins appears to be finding a rhythm. "It's a good stepping-stone for us," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters after a 106-104 win at Houston on Wednesday in which Cousins led the way with a season-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting. "It's more about the team than it is about any one individual. DeMarcus has had big games for us already. Just figuring out how the game has to feel. It's different with him. We haven't had this kind of an option before." The Thunder are trying to bounce back after squandering a 19-point lead at Indiana on Thursday and falling 108-106 for their seventh setback in 11 games. "We played with the game a little bit," All-Star forward Paul George told reporters. "We didn't stick to just putting the game away. We allowed them to get some confidence. The fact of the matter is we put ourselves in position to give them an opportunity to win the game and they won the game."
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ABOUT THE WARRIORS (46-21): Cousins added eight rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals to his stat line against the Rockets and has the full support of his superstar teammates. "We made a concerted effort to try to feed him in the post because of the way they played defense. He's DeMarcus Cousins," star guard Stephen Curry told reporters. "I know he's been through a lot this year and has had some ups and downs since he's been back, but nothing he does out there should surprise anybody. It's just building that consistency, and he's done an amazing job of that, and it's only gonna get better for us." All-Star guard Klay Thompson cited Cousins' passing ability after he poured in 30 points on 12-of-23 shooting against Houston.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (42-27): Oklahoma City, which was playing the second night of a back-to-back on Thursday, pushed the pace in the first half before running out of steam. "Once we get going, we start playing faster, up tempo and start getting to fast breaks and transition, that's when we're at our best," George told reporters. "We're still a good executing team in the half-court but again, that's when we're at our best, when we're flying and making the game easy." George led with 36 points in the setback while point guard Russell Westbrook recorded his 27th triple-double of the season with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Curry is shooting 35.7 percent from the floor over the last three games, including 32.4 percent from beyond the arc.
2. George made six 3-pointers on Thursday to reach 245 for the season, besting his previous career high of 244 set in 2017-18.
3. Oklahoma City blasted host Golden State 123-95 in the most recent meeting on Nov. 21 with Curry, Cousins and PF Draymond Green sitting out.