When the Warriors and Wizards tipoff on Tuesday, it will be one year, three months and two days since Golden State last lost a regular season game at Oracle Arena. Since then the Warriors have won 53 straight, including all 35 this season. The Dubs also remain a game ahead of the pace set by Chicago for the most wins in a season.
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SCHEDULING
The Wizards trekked out west over the weekend understanding their chances of qualifying for the postseason are slim after a devastating double-overtime loss to Minnesota on Friday night. But the possibility still remains, and the Wizards opened their season-long, five-game road trip Sunday by accomplishing what they couldn’t do 48 hours earlier: handle an inferior opponent. The Wizards ended a two-game skid and won for the sixth time in eight games to pull within 2.5 games of the Pistons and Pacers, who hold the final two playoff spots in the East. The Wizards improved to 17-18 on the road this season, the most away victories of any sub-.500 team in the NBA this season.
The Warriors are spoiling their fans with win after win inside Oracle. The faithful haven’t seen a regular season loss since January – of last year. And the club continues on pace to set the league record for wins in a season. Winning has become so routine with this group that a loss might come just because the Warriors are overconfident. But, as Klay Thompson said, the team is focused on setting the record. And who can argue with him.
INJURIES
Bradley Beal twisted his right ankle Sunday while running up the floor. He was removed from the game but returned after having the ankle taped in the locker room. Also, forward Markieff Morris missed Sunday’s game with a calf injury. Both players are day-to-day.
The Warriors will be without forward Andre Iguodala, who continues to recover from a left ankle sprain, and center Festus Ezili, who remains out with a knee problem but is getting closer to a return.
KEY MATCHUP
The Warriors rode the hot hand of Klay Thompson, who scored 40 points in each game, to victories over Dallas and Philadelphia. His 80 points in those games came with exactly one assist, and teammates let Thompson know about that. So what does Klay do against the Wizards? He feeds his backcourt partner Stephen Curry, of course. That’s an easy way to raise the assist total, just get the ball to the best pure shooter in the game. Scoring 53 points in two games isn’t too shabby, but when your teammate goes for 80, you kind of get overlooked. And for the first time Curry is being overlooked. The Warriors are such an unselfish group that Thompson will be looking to end the harassment by his mates over the one assist. Look for Thompson to feed Curry whenever possible and Steph to shoot when there’s daylight. Remember what happened back in early February when the teams met in D.C.? Surely you can’t forget Curry’s 51-point night when he banged home 11 triples.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
As it’s been for the majority of the NBA season, defense has been the reason for the Wizard’s sporadic performance recently. After holding opponents to 92.4 points per game on 41.3 percent shooting during a season-best five-game winning streak, Washington allowed Atlanta to score 122 points on 53.6 percent shooting and the Timberwolves to net 132 points on 53.1 percent shooting in losses. The effort was better Sunday, but the Lakers stink, so don’t read too much into it. The D will be tested Tuesday by the Warriors, who are averaging 117.4 points per game in their last 10, and that includes the 79-point effort against San Antonio. Golden State erupted for 134 against the Wiz when the teams met on Feb. 3, making 52.7 percent of their shots and 48.8 percent from three-point land. That likely won’t happen again, but with the Dubs it’s always a strong possibility.
Golden State 120, Washington 109
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