(Sports Network) - The Golden State Warriors look to keep the momentum of a
strong second half last time out going on Saturday evening as they continue
their longest road trip of the season with a matchup versus the Washington
Wizards.
The Warriors play the third of a seven-game swing, all against Eastern
Conference opponents. They improved to 6-1 against the East this season with
Friday's 109-102 triumph over the Brooklyn Nets.
Both David Lee and Stephen Curry got hot after halftime. Lee netted 13 of his
30 points in the fourth quarter and all but seven of Curry's 28 points came in
the second half. Golden State has won the first two of its swing and seven of
its last nine overall.
Lee was also big on the glass, pulling down 15 rebounds. Seven of those were
offensive.
"I was just trying to hit the offensive glass," Lee said. "All my focus was on
offensive rebounding and trying to be aggressive on the glass and let the
scoring take care of itself."
Warriors head coach and Brooklyn-born Mark Jackson, who also spent time as a
television analyst for the Nets, watched his team hold the Nets to 34-percent
shooting in the second half after being down by eight at halftime.
Curry ended with five assists, snapping his streak of at least 20 points and
10 assists in a career-high four straight games. It was the longest such run
by a Warrior since Tim Hardaway from Dec. 8-15, 1992.
The Wizards also play the back end of games on consecutive nights and were
downed 104-95 on Friday by the hosting Atlanta Hawks. That defeat, in which
Washington got to within two after being by 18 in the third, came three days
after a big win over the defending champion Miami Heat.
Kevin Seraphin scored a team-best 19 points and Bradley Beal netted 18 for
the Wizards, who have split four games since their 0-12 start. Jordan Crawford
and Nene added 14 and 12 points, respectively, in the setback.
"Our defense wasn't on the ball tonight, especially our help defense. We were
just all over the place," Beal said. "We just weren't there mentally on
defense and we can't use the excuse of being tired. We have to play again
(Saturday) night. It is all mental for us and you have to be mentally tough to
overcome the adversity."
The Wizards will look to snap a three-game slide to the Warriors tonight and
that includes a 120-100 home setback in the lone meeting last season. Lee had
a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Golden State, while guard
John Wall, who has yet to play this season for Washington due to a left knee
injury, had 20 points and 14 assists.
The Sports Network