What's at stake in tonight's Warriors-Spurs game
The Golden State Warriors play their 81st game of the season Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs (7 p.m. ET, NBATV) as they continue their quest for the single-season wins record while the Spurs look to remain unbeaten at home. Here are some things to watch for in Sunday night’s showdown:
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The Warriors’ last-minute win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night kept their hopes of a record-setting 73-win season alive. To break the record set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, they’ll need to win tonight in San Antonio, then beat the Grizzlies again Wednesday night at home. A win Sunday would give the Warriors 72 for the season, tying the Bulls’ single-season record. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives Golden State a 32 percent chance of breaking the record — but that goes up to 91 percent with a win tonight.
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A win Sunday would also give the Warriors 34 wins away from home this season, one more than the record set by those same 1995-96 Bulls.
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The Warriors are also trying to become the first team to finish an entire season without losing back-to-back games. A win Sunday would guarantee them that milestone, regardless of what happens in the season finale.
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The Spurs are one of nine teams to have beaten the Warriors this season. If Golden State wins tonight, it will finish the season without losing to the same opponent twice.
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Meanwhile, the Spurs are trying to become the first team to finish a season perfect at home. To do so, they need to beat the Warriors on Sunday, then win again Tuesday against the Thunder. A split of those two games would leave them tied with the 1985-86 Boston Celtics with 40 home wins.
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If the Spurs win out, they can become just the seventh team in NBA history to win at least 68 games in a single season. The only one of the previous six to not go on to win the title was the 1972-73 Celtics, who lost to the eventual champion New York Knicks in the conference finals. If the Spurs win out, the NBA would be guaranteed of a non-title-winning 68-win team this season.
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Stephen Curry‘s quest for 400 3-pointers hit a speed bump Saturday night. He was just 3-for-14 from 3-point range, giving him 388 for the season. He needs to make 12 in the Warriors’ final two games to become the first to reach the 400 3-pointers milestone. Curry is averaging 3.3 made 3-pointers per game this season against both the Spurs and Grizzlies, the two remaining opponents on the schedule. But 12 3-pointers in a two-game span isn’t out of the question, especially considering that he has made 12 in a single game already this season.
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Curry can also join the prestigious 50/40/90 club for the first time in his career (50 percent FG, 40 percent 3-point FG, 90 percent FT), but Saturday’s game against the Grizzlies hurt him. He went just 7-for-22, dropping his season-long field goal percentage to 50.1 percent. If he were to take 20 shots per game in the final two games, he’d need to make at least 19 total to keep his shooting percentage at 50 or higher.
