Warriors beat: Kerr explains resting core four Saturday vs. Spurs.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Warriors’ nationally televised game Saturday night in San Antonio might not feel like a matchup between the NBA’s two best teams.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala will rest, leaving Golden State without its top five scorers. That includes Kevin Durant, who will miss at least another three weeks with a left knee injury.
After the Warriors’ loss to the Timberwolves on Friday, head coach Steve Kerr announced his plan to sit his core players Saturday after conferring with the training staff. After concluding an eight-city, 13-day stretch Saturday that spanned nearly 13,000 miles, the Warriors will have two days before Tuesday’s home game against the 76ers.
“It’s 100 percent health,” said Kerr, whose team will get to San Antonio around 3 a.m. Saturday. “It’s my call and it’s the right thing to do in terms of the way the season is playing out, and the way the minutes have gone and KD’s injury.”
San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard, an MVP candidate, will miss Saturday’s game after entering the NBA’s concussion protocol. Still, the Spurs are expected to have the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol in a game with potential playoff implications.
Golden State is nursing a 1½-game lead over San Antonio for the Western Conference’s top seed. Because they lost their season opener to the Spurs, the first of three scheduled matchups, the Warriors would surrender the tiebreaker with another loss to San Antonio.
With Durant, Curry, Thompson, Green and Iguodala out, the Warriors’ top available scorer Saturday will be
Zaza Pachulia at 6.3 points per game. Golden State will be trying to break out of a rut that has included its first 2-4 regular-season stretch of the Kerr era. Passing dad: Despite being mired in a slump beyond the arc, Curry surpassed his father, Dell Curry, in career scoring.
Early in the third quarter against the Timberwolves, Stephen hit a three-pointer to move past Dell (12,670 career points) for 210th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Stephen, who has played in the league about half as long as his dad did, scored 26 points to finish with 12,682 career points.
“It’s pretty special, man,” Stephen said. “I’m in the family business, so to have that accomplishment is pretty special.”