THE BASICS
Tipoff: 6 p.m. Saturday at the Pepsi Center. TV: NBC Sports Bay Area. Radio: KGMZ 95.7 “The Game” in Oakland and San Francisco, KRTY 95.3 in San Jose, KION 1460 and 101.1 in Salinas and Monterey.
THE RECORDS
Warriors: 41-11, No. 1 in the Western Conference, three games ahead of Houston.
Nuggets: 27-25, No. 8 in the Western Conference, 14 games behind the Warriors.
LATEST RESULTS
Warriors: Ended a two-game road losing streak with a 119-104 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at the Golden 1 Center. The Warriors overcame a slow start to take an 82-69 third-quarter lead, only to see the Kings cut it to 89-88 in the fourth. But Golden State went on an 8-0 run to take control. Kevin Durant had 33 points and hit 6 of 7 from 3-point range. Golden State was without Jordan Bell (ankle), Andre Iguodala (rest), David West (rest) and Shaun Livingston (personal reasons).
Nuggets: Gary Harris hit a 3-pointer as time expired to give Denver a scintillating 127-124 triumph over Oklahoma City on Thursday night at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets recovered from blowing a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter. Jamal Murray had 33 points to lead the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists. Harris finished with 25.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
The Warriors lead 2-1 heading into tonight’s series finale. … On Nov. 4, Golden State outscored Denver 43-21 in the third quarter to break open a close game and roll to a 127-108 victory. Durant scored 25 points and Stephen Curry had 22 and 11 assists. … On Dec. 23, in one of the Warriors’ most perplexing performances of the season, Golden State shot 3 for 27 from 3-point range in a 96-81 loss at Oracle Arena. At one point, the Warriors missed 20 consecutive 3-point attempts. The defeat ended the Warriors’ season-high 11-game winning streak. Curry, Zaza Pachulia and Livingston sat out because of injuries. … On Jan. 8, Golden State held off Denver in the fourth quarter for a 124-114 victory at Oracle Arena. Curry continued his hot streak with 32 points and five 3-pointers. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
SLUMP BUSTER?
Durant’s performance at Sacramento was his best in about two weeks. In his previous six games, Durant averaged 20.7 points on 44.6-percent shooting (41 for 92) from the field and 28.9 percent (13 for 45) on 3-pointers. Against the Kings, Durant was 12 of 17 from the field, including 6 of 7 on 3-pointers, on his way to 33 points. Strangely he has not blocked a shot in consecutive games for the first time this season and has only one in his past three games.
INJURY UPDATE
Warriors rookie Bell has missed the past six games because of inflammation in his left ankle and has been ruled out until after the All-Star break. Iguodala should be back after being rested in Sacramento. West will miss the Denver game to attend the funeral of former teammate Rasual Butler. Butler and his wife were killed in a car accident Wednesday. Nuggets forward Mason Plumlee is out because of a right calf strain.
PLAGUED BY TURNOVERS
On Friday night, the Warriors posted one of their most alarming turnover totals of the season. They had 25, including 16 in the second and third quarters. The main culprits in Friday’s game were the usual suspects: Curry had a game-high six turnovers, followed by Draymond Green with five and Durant with five.
BARELY HANGING ON
The Nuggets were expected to be a sure-fire playoff team this season. But they are struggling to stay in the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference, one game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers. Denver had lost eight of 13 before beating Oklahoma City on Friday night.
MISSED CHANCES
The Warriors’ 25 turnovers against the Kings should have killed them, but Sacramento really didn’t capitalize on those opportunities. The Kings scored only 19 points off those turnovers, including seven points off nine turnovers in the second quarter and four points off seven turnovers in the third.
DANGEROUS DUO
Harris and Murray have quietly developed into a pretty good backcourt combination and lead a balanced Denver attack. Harris is averaging a team-leading 17.4 points per game and Harris is second at 16.6 points. In his past five games, Harris is averaging 20.8 points and shooting 47.1 percent on 3-pointers. Over that same span, Murray is scoring 19.6 points and hitting 46.7 percent of his 3-point attempts.
ROAD COURT DISADVANTAGE
Playing a road back-to-back is always a tough chore in the NBA. But the Warriors will face that challenge with the added twist of having to complete the task in the thin air of Denver’s 5,280-foot elevation.
MULTI-SKILLED
Jokic, who is coming off his fourth triple-double of the season, is one of the most skilled centers in the league. He is an offensive factor from almost anywhere in the front court whether he is shooting the ball or passing it. He is averaging 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
50-40-90
A player shooting 50 percent from the field, 40 percent on 3-pointers and 90 percent on free throws is a rare occurrence. This season, three Warriors are within striking distance of this achievement. Curry’s percentages are 49.2, 42.1 and 91.3. Durant’s are 51.0, 41.9 and 88.6. Klay Thompson is shooting 49.2, 45.5 and 85.9.
