PREVIEW: Resting Warriors (51-12) To Have Just 9 Players At Denver Nuggets (24-41)

Golden State Warriors (51-12) at Denver Nuggets (24-41)

Tip-off: Friday, March 13th, 2015 – 6:00PM PDT

Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

TV: CSN Bay Area | Radio: KNBR 680 AM

Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors #LetsGoWarriorsLive

Projected Starting Lineups:

Warriors

PG: Shaun Livingston (5.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 3.1 APG)

SG: Justin Holiday (3.6 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.7 APG)

SF: Harrison Barnes (10.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.4 APG)

PF: Draymond Green (11.6 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.6 APG)

C: David Lee (8.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.9 APG)

Head Coach: Steve Kerr (51-12, .810)

Pistons

PG: Ty Lawson (15.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 9.7 APG)

PG: Jameer Nelson (7.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 4.0 APG)

SG: Randy Foye (6.6 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 1.9 APG)

SF: Wilson Chandler (13.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.5 APG)

PF: Danilo Gallinari (10.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.1 APG)

C: Kenneth Faried (11.6 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.3 APG)

Head Coach: Melvin Hunt (4-2, .667)

Last Times Out

LAST WARRIORS GAME: On 3/11/2015, Golden State defeated Detroit, 105-98. Klay Thompson led the way and scored 27 points on an off night for Stephen Curry.

LAST NUGGETS GAME: On 3/11/2015, the Nuggets upset the Hawks, 115-102, in Denver.

LAST WARRIORS-NUGGETS MATCHUP: On 1/19/2015, the Warriors blew out the Nuggets, 122-79, as James Michael McAdoo scored 11 points in his NBA debut.

LAST WARRIORS-NUGGETS MATCHUP IN DENVER: On 12/23/2013, the Warriors defeated the Nuggets, 98-91, but squandered a 15-point lead in the process, while the San Francisco 49ers won their final game played at Candlestick Park.

Game Notes

• “The Warriors (51-12) lead the Western Conference by a full seven games over second-place Memphis. The substantial lead surely was a consideration for the decision to four of the team’s top six players.” — Monte Poole, CSN Bay Area

• “Forward Marreese Speights has been suspended w/o pay for the Warriors’ game at Denver, because he pleaded no contest to reckless driving.” — Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle

• “(Andrew) Bogut, (Andre) Iguodala, Curry and Thompson will rest tonight…Warriors will start Livingston, Holiday, Barnes, Green and Lee…They were going to recall Ognjen Kuzmic, but he banged up his shoulder.” — Simmons

• “The Nuggets (24-41) have all but been eliminated from the playoffs, but they’re showing signs of life under interim coach Melvin Hunt. Denver improved to 4-2 since Hunt replaced Brian Shaw with a surprising 115-102 win over Atlanta on Wednesday.
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  Danilo Gallinari had 23 points and recently acquired Will Barton added 16 as the Nuggets matched their highest scoring total in 28 games.
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  “We had fun. We enjoyed the night,” forward Kenneth Faried said. “Atlanta is still a top team, one of the top teams in the league. We were able to show, `Hey, maybe the Nuggets can really play and maybe the Nuggets are worth watching.'”
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  Denver, which beat NBA-worst New York 106-78 two nights earlier, is looking to win three straight for the first time since a season high-tying five-game run Jan. 3-14.” — Noey Kupchan, AP/STATS

• “Melvin Hunt: ‘If Chris Mullin & Run TMC stepped out there tonight we’re going to suit up & play against them..I’m talkin 50-year-old Chris Mullin.'” — Diamond Leung, Bay Area News Group

• “DEN interim coach Melvin Hunt said if a plumber shows up to a shack, he still has to work like it’s a mansion.” — Simmons

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