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Warriors, Spurs meet in San Antonio Wednesday
By: Sam Chase - StatFox
Published: 3/29/2017  at  10:52:00 AM
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GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (60-14)

at SAN ANTONIO SPURS (57-16)

Tip-off: Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET
Line: San Antonio -4.5, Total: 209

The Warriors get no rest after a big win over Houston, as they’ll face the Spurs in San Antonio on Wednesday.

The Golden State Warriors picked up a statement victory on Tuesday night, leading by as much as 22 points in a road win over one of the primary challengers to their Western Conference throne, the Houston Rockets (GSW +1.5). It was the eighth straight win for the Warriors, who are finally on a roll after losing star Kevin Durant to injury. At 60-14 (35-37-2 ATS), they now hold a 2.5-game lead for first place in the West over the San Antonio Spurs, who, hey, what do you know, are their opponents Wednesday night for the second leg of a back-to-back. The Spurs have a nice five-game winning streak of their own going to have achieved the league’s second best record of 57-16 (39-33-1 ATS), most recently destroying the Cavaliers 103-74 at home on Monday (SAS -5). Over the last five seasons, underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points revenging a road blowout loss of 20 points or more—the Warriors fell 107-85 in San Antonio on Mar. 11 in a game in which both teams sat their best players—are 13-43 ATS against teams coming off a home win of 10 points or more (SAS). In the same timeframe, games involving two teams that are outscoring opponents by seven or more points per game and are coming off of scoring at least 105 points in their last game are 54-17 Under against the total. PF James Michael McAdoo is questionable for the Warriors, and PF Draymond Green is probable. The team is expected to provide an update on Durant’s injury timetable during the day on Wednesday.

Warriors PG Stephen Curry (24.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.8) put up a killer fantasy line against the Rockets, scoring 32 points to go with two steals, seven assists and 10 rebounds, which matched his season high. He only shot 3-of-11 from the three-point arc, but delivered when it counted on a dagger three to effectively end the game with just under two minutes to go. Like Curry (11-for-22), SG Klay Thompson (22.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG) shot 50% on the night, going 10-of-20 from the field for 25 points. He has been scoring pretty much the same amount as Curry in the absence of Durant (25.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.6 BPG), as Curry is averaging 24.9 PPG in his last 15 games and Thompson is averaging 23.1 in the same span. Green (10.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 7.1 APG, 2.1 SPG, 1.4 BPG) sprained his left ankle against the Rockets, but finished the game and appears likely to play Wednesday night. He had an excellent game, posting his third-highest scoring game of the calendar year with 19 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Rookie SG Patrick McCaw (3.8 PPG) and C Zaza Pachulia (6.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG) rounded out the starting lineup against Houston, but only played 12 and 14 minutes, respectively. SFs Andre Iguodala (7.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.0 SPG) and Matt Barnes (5.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG) are the leading minutes-getters off the bench.

Durant’s absence leaves the Warriors especially vulnerable to the terrors of Spurs SF Kawhi Leonard (26.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.9 SPG), who is once again putting up an MVP-caliber season in San Antonio. His 25-point night in only 30 minutes against the Cavs saw him shoot an efficient 11-of-21 from the floor despite going 0-for-7 from three, showing just how deadly he is in attacking the basket. He has only played in one game against the Dubs this year, scoring 35 points in 32 minutes in the season opener. PF LaMarcus Aldridge (17.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.1 BPG) has flown significantly under the radar this season (to the point where his biggest news story may have been when he complained about not making the All-Star Game), but he has been a fantastic contributor as always. His 26-point game against the Timberwolves last Tuesday was the most he has scored in a game since mid-January. At 36 years old, C Pau Gasol (12.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.1 BPG) is still a deeply impactful performer. He was dominant in 26 minutes against the Knicks on Saturday, scoring 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting and pulling down 10 boards. Typically starting alongside Leonard and Aldridge are PG Tony Parker (10.1 PPG, 4.7 APG), SG Danny Green (7.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG) and C Dewayne Dedmon (5.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG). Between the three of them, only Parker has scored in double-digits in the last three games. Like Gasol, veterans SG Manu Ginobili (7.7 PPG, 1.3 SPG) and PF David Lee (7.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG) make significant contributions off the bench.


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