Preview: Sacramento At Golden State
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, November 28, 2015
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
The Golden State Warriors keep soaring past other NBA teams and look to improve their record start to 18-0 when they visit the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. Golden State posted a season best for points and set a franchise record with 22 3-pointers in Friday’s 135-116 road victory over the Phoenix Suns.
The Warriors have defeated the Kings nine consecutive times, including a 103-94 victory in Sacramento on Nov. 7. Reigning MVP Stephen Curry played just three quarters in the rout of the Suns and made a season-best nine 3-pointers and scored 41 points — his fifth 40-point outing of the season and 14th of his career. The Kings won’t know until sometime Saturday whether or not All-Star post player DeMarcus Cousins (back) will return after a two-game absence. Sacramento suffered a 101-91 home loss to Minnesota on Friday as small forward Rudy Gay had two points on 1-of-13 shooting two nights after scoring a season-best 36 against Milwaukee.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE KINGS (6-11): Cousins has eight double-doubles in the 10 games in which he has played and Sacramento is 1-6 when he sits out. Point guard Rajon Rondo is giving Cousins a run for best player on the squad and had 16 points and 16 assists against Minnesota, marking the 10th time in 11 games he has reached double digits in assists. Rondo had a huge outing in the earlier loss to the Warriors with 14 points and 15 assists while matching his season high of 12 rebounds and recording a season-best four steals.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (17-0): The loaded roster is filled with capable reserves and veteran guard Leandro Barbosa had 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting — hitting all five of his 3-point attempts — in the win over Phoenix. Barbosa has made 14-of-18 shots over the past two games while averaging 17 points after reaching double digits just once in his first 11 games this season. “We’re rolling right now,” Barbosa said after the win over Phoenix. “We’re just having fun. The chemistry is really, really good. We have so many options, so many weapons.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors won last season’s two home games against the Kings by an average of 22.5 points.
2. Sacramento backup SG Marco Belinelli is averaging 17.4 points over the past five games.
3. Golden State SF Harrison Barnes (ankle) departed the game with Phoenix and X-rays were negative and his status for Saturday’s game isn’t yet known.
PREDICTION: Warriors 122, Kings 95