Live updates: Warriors vs. Thunder, Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Get live news and analysis Saturday at 5:30 p.m. during the Warriors showdown in Oklahoma City against the Thunder.
The teams have split their previous two games in Oakland, but this game lost a lot of intrigue with the news Saturday morning that Kevin Durant will sit out while resting his right knee. The Warriors’ star has been a target of Thunder fans’ anger the past three years since leaving Oklahoma City.
The Warriors (46-21) did just fine without Durant on Wednesday when they knocked off the Houston Rockets 106-104 in a game Golden State controlled for most of the night. DeMarcus Cousins, who’ll face a big test against Thunder center Steven Adams Saturday, had his best game as a Warrior on Wednesday. Cousins scored 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out seven assists in 32 minutes.
Containing Oklahoma City’s triple-double machine Russell Westbrook and Paul George will be the Warriors’ biggest obstacle. Westbrook is averaging 23.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game. George leads the Thunder in scoring (28.2 per game) and is coming off one of his best games recently when he scored 36 points in an otherwise disappointing 108-106 OKC loss to Indiana on Thursday.
The Warriors expect Durant back when they travel to San Antonio for a game on Monday night.
Here are the projected starting lineups:
Warriors
C DeMarcus Cousins
PF Draymond Green
SF Andre Iguodala
SG Klay Thompson
PG Stephen Curry
Thunder
C Steven Adams
PF Jerami Grant
SF Paul George
SG Terrance Ferguson
PG Russell Westbrook