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Game Preview: Warriors at Spurs - 3/18/19

Established 1946 | 7-time NBA Champions

The road trip continues. Next up for the Dubs: a Monday night matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.

Warriors at SpursMonday, March 185:00 p.m.AT&T CenterSan Antonio, TX

WATCH: NBCSBA, ESPN
RADIO: 95.7 The Game, Warriors Mobile App and Warriors Radio Network

SNAP THE STREAK
The road trip continues in San Antonio on Monday, as Andrew Bogut makes his return and the Dubs get set to take on the Spurs in the first game of a back-to-back. The Warriors are 2-0 on this four-game road trip, however the Spurs are the hottest team in the league with eight straight wins. This season, Dubs and Spurs have split their season series 1-1, with the Dubs most recently earning a 141-102 victory over the Spurs last month on Warriors Ground.

LAST TIME OUTIt was a Saturday night showdown as the Warriors beat the Thunder 110-88 in Oklahoma City. The Dubs closed out the first half with a 13-3 run and maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half, resulting in a road win that clinched the Dubs a playoff berth » Full Recap

MATCHUP AT A GLANCE

LAST GAME'S STARTERS

GSW: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins

SAS: Bryn Forbes, Derrick White, DeMar DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl

INJURY & ROSTER NOTES

GSW: DeMarcus Cousins (right foot soreness), Jacob Evans (illness), Andre Iguodala (dental work) and Damian Jones (left pectoral surgery) are out. Team Notes

SAS: Dejounte Murray (torn right anterior cruciate ligament) is out. Team Notes

DEFENSIVE DIFFERENCE
Defense makes all the difference. After Saturday night’s game Head Coach Steve Kerr shared, “The last two games, our defense has been really, really good. That’s what you need on the road against great teams.” Since the Dubs have been on the road, they have increased intensity on both sides of the court, helping them to lock in two wins. In Saturday’s win at Oklahoma City, the Warriors held the Thunder, the fourth highest scoring team in the NBA, to 32.3 percent shooting, a season-low for a Warriors opponent. In addition, the Dubs blocked 10 shots and grabbed 45 defensive rebounds. The Dubs’ defensive performance has been up and down this season, but as long as they maintain the effort they’ve displayed through the first two games of this trip they should be in pretty good shape.

TEAM LEADERS

SAN ANTONIO SCOUTING REPORT
The Spurs have rallied off eight straight wins to work their way up to sixth place in the West and are only two and a half games out of third place in the conference. San Antonio’s success is based on a highly efficient offense that doesn’t turn the ball over. The Spurs are second in field goal percentage (47.9 percent) – the Warriors are first (48.8 percent) – and their 12.2 turnovers per game are the least in the NBA. Additionally, they lead the league in 3-point shooting percentage (39.9 percent), but attempt the fewest amount of threes in the league. While they are different from the Dubs in their reliance on the three, they are similar in their mastery of the midrange. Both of San Antonio’s leading scorers, DeMar DeRozan (21.6 ppg) and LaMarcus Aldridge (21.3 ppg) are first and second in the league in terms of mid-range scoring. The Spurs are 28-7 at home this season and are nearly two months removed from their previous home defeat. But the Dubs have been a force on the road, so something will have to give on Monday.