Golden State will look to stay 3.5 games ahead of San Antonio for the first seed in the Western Conference when they host Washington in a titanic clash on Sunday night. The Warriors have won 10 consecutive games and have adapted to life without Kevin Durant. The Wizards have suffered a few setbacks in their quest to overtake the Eastern Conference and are now 3.5 games back themselves from first place. Tipoff is set for 8:00 PM Eastern time and the game can be seen on NBA League Pass, CSN Mid-Atlantic, and NBC Sports Bay Area.
Wizards (46-30, 1st Southeast)
Washington will try to end their five-game road trip on a positive note after splitting the first four games. They started off great with back-to-back wins over the Lakers and Cavaliers until falling to the Clippers and the Jazz. The Wizards' offense was limited to just 88 points on 40.2 percent shooting. The team hit just 5-of-17 3-pointers.
Shooting guard Bradley Beal (23.1 ppg, 3.5 apg) converted 3-of-7 3-pointers to finish with 27 points for the second consecutive game. Beal was the high man in their previous game against the Warriors with 25 points. Power forward Markieff Morris (13.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg) could be out of the game as he rolled his ankle against Utah and is questionable for this contest.
Warriors (62-14, 1st Pacific)
Golden State has passed their current gauntlet with flying colors so far. Their last four victories have been against Memphis, San Antonio, and Houston twice. Washington ends a brutal stretch with lower opponents like the Timberwolves and Suns coming up afterwards. Kevin Durant is still expected to return at some point this month, likely when the playoffs are starting up or a little sooner.
Point guard Stephen Curry (25 ppg, 6.5 apg) led the team with 25 points in their last meeting with the Wizards. He's averaged 28.3 points in his last three games, including reaching the 32-point mark at Houston back on March 28th.
Golden State is favored by a whopping 9.5 points at home and the total O/U is set at 221 points. The Warriors are 6-0 against the spread in their last six games when playing on one day of rest.