Riding a nine-game winning streak, the Warriors return home to face the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
Warriors vs. RocketsFriday, March 317:30 p.m.Oracle Arena
WATCH: CSN Bay Area, ESPN
RADIO: 95.7 The Game, Warriors Radio Network
YOU AGAIN?
Riding a nine-game winning streak, the Warriors return home to face the Houston Rockets on Friday night. This will be the fourth and final matchup between the two teams this season, and represents their second encounter in a span of four days. The game also falls on an Authentic Fan Friday, and all fans in attendance will receive a cheer card courtesy of CSN Bay Area. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Watch the action on CSN Bay Area and ESPN, or listen to the call on 95.7 The Game and the Warriors Radio Network.
LAST TIME OUT
It didn’t start pretty, but the Warriors’ 110-98 triumph in San Antonio was perhaps the team’s most satisfying victory of the season. Full Recap
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE
GSW
61-14
1st in West
115.8 PPG (1st)
44.4 RPG (7th)
30.5 APG (1st)
HOU
51-23
3rd in West
115.6 PPG (2nd)
44.2 RPG (10th)
25.4 APG (2nd)
PROJECTED STARTERS
GSW: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Patrick McCaw, Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia
HOU: James Harden, Patrick Beverley, Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela
INJURY & ROSTER NOTES
GSW: Kevon Looney (left hip strain) missed the last game. Kevin Durant (left knee) is out. Damian Jones (D-League assignment) is not with the team. Team Notes
HOU: Ryan Anderson (right ankle sprain) is out. Isaiah Taylor and Troy Williams (D-League assignment) are not with the team. Team Notes
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
No one would have reasonably expected the Warriors to become a better defensive team when Kevin Durant went down with a knee injury, but that’s exactly what’s happened. Prior to his injury, the Warriors posted a very respectable defensive rating of 101.3 points allowed per 100 possessions. Since, however, they’ve held their opponents to only 99.9 points per 100 possessions, which stands as the best defensive rating in the league over that span. It’s taken a team effort to compensate for Durant’s absence, and in the process the Warriors have played some tremendous team defense against some very talented individuals. In their three victories over the Thunder, Rockets and Spurs during their current winning streak, Golden State held Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard to a combined 16-of-56 (.286) shooting from the field and 2-of-20 (.100) from three-point range, and also forced that threesome into committing 16 total turnovers. Those three All-Stars are quite possibly the three leading candidates to take home this season’s MVP award, and to limit their production to the degree that they have in recent games just goes to show how dominant the Warriors’ defense has been as of late.
TEAM LEADERS
GSW
PTS: Durant (25.3)
REB: Durant (8.2)
AST: Green (7.1)
HOU
PTS: Harden (29.3)
REB: Harden (8.0)
AST: Harden (11.4)
HOUSTON SCOUTING REPORT
Not much has changed since Tuesday. The Rockets are still one of the best stories in the league this season and remain fairly locked in to the third seed in the West. At 51-23, they sit six games back of San Antonio and 5.5 games ahead of Utah in fourth, but are coming off a defeat at the hands of these very same Warriors heading into a road matchup in Portland on Thursday. James Harden recorded his 20th triple-double of the season in Tuesday’s loss to Golden State, but he had a tougher time than usual that night as he was primarily defended by a duo that has had his number this year. When guarded by either Klay Thompson or Andre Iguodala, Harden has more turnovers (11) than made field goals (nine) and just a single three-pointer so far this season. The Warriors will depend on that duo once again on Friday night in the hopes that they will eventually wear Harden down, particularly with Houston playing on the back end of a road back-to-back.