(Sports Network) - The Golden State Warriors are happy to be home after an
unsuccessful road trip and their first guests Monday are the struggling
Toronto Raptors.
The Warriors went 1-4 on a recent swing east and it ended poorly. Golden State
lost its last four, but there were interesting moments along the way.
In Indiana on Tuesday, the Warriors and Pacers got a little skirmish that cost
David Lee a game. That came on Wednesday against the Knicks in Madison Square
Garden, where Steph Curry went off for 54 points on 11 made 3-pointers in yet
another loss.
On Saturday, the Warriors squandered a 16-point lead and fell to the
Philadelphia 76ers. Curry was spectacular in the first half and finished with
30, while Klay Thompson added 29. Lee had his NBA-best 39th double-double with
13 points and 16 rebounds.
But the Warriors let one slip thanks to 20 turnovers.
"We got away from what we are," said Warriors coach Mark Jackson afterward.
"We made mistakes, let go of the rope and paid the price. We were bad."
Warriors fans can take solace in knowing that Golden State has the most
remaining home games of any team in the NBA with 16 of their last 22 at Oracle
Arena. They own the ninth-best home mark in the league at 18-7 and Curry's
career average of 27.6 ppg against the Raptors is his best scoring mark
against a single team.
The Raptors have struggled of late. They've dropped four in a row and Monday's
game will be the second of a four-game road trip. They lost to the Milwaukee
Bucks on Saturday, then have the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers still to
come.
Against the Bucks, Toronto was without Rudy Gay, the team's leading scorer who
sat with back spasms. The Raptors took it to overtime before falling, 122-114.
"I loved our fight with Rudy being out," Toronto's head coach Dwane Casey
said. "Our guys are pulling together, pulling for each other."
Seven Raptors scored in double figures, led by 21 off the bench from Alan
Anderson. Kyle Lowry had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10
assists.
"They executed their plays in that overtime very well," Lowry said. "They
jumped out to a 6-0 lead in overtime and we kind of had to play catch up from
there."
Gay is listed as day-to-day for the Warriors game. Landry Fields started in
his place against the Bucks and played a team-high 47-plus minutes. He had 15
points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
The Warriors defeated the Raptors 114-102 on Jan. 28 in Toronto. Gay didn't
play in that game, but Toronto has struggled in Oakland. The Raptors have lost
the last seven on the road in this series with their last victory coming on
Feb. 8, 2004.
The Sports Network