Detroit Pistons vs Golden State Warriors
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 12, 2017
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
PREDICTION: Warriors 120, Pistons 108

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors will have to deal with an elite big man for the third consecutive game Thursday night when they host Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons.

Two days after having successfully silenced Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins (17 points, 10 rebounds) in a 117-106 road win on Sunday night, the Warriors got steamrolled by the Miami Heat’s Hassan Whiteside to the tune of 28 points and 20 rebounds on Tuesday.

The Warriors, playing on their home court, were able to prevail again, but it wasn’t easy. The Heat led into the third quarter before eventually running out of gas in a 107-95 loss.

“Hassan Whiteside is a handful,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after watching the young standout record his sixth career 20-20 game. “Whether he’s scoring inside or not, he’s a threat in there and you have to honor that.”

Drummond did Whiteside one better in the rebound column when the Warriors and Pistons met last January in Detroit. With 14 points and 21 rebounds, he recorded his fifth career double-double in seven matchups with Golden State.

The Warriors signed Zaza Pachulia in the offseason to help combat big-time interior forces such as Drummond, and their first meeting this season was a Golden State success. Drummond was held to 15 points and nine rebounds in a 119-113 Warriors win in Detroit last month.

The rematch will take place in Oakland as Detroit’s third game on a five-city trip. Already, it’s been an unusual venture.

The trip opener got delayed one night when snow prevented the clubs from arriving in Portland on time.

The Pistons responded well, edging the Trail Blazers 125-124 in two overtimes Sunday night.

Detroit then appeared to be well on its way to a second consecutive road win before blowing a nine-point, fourth-quarter lead in a 100-94 loss at Sacramento on Tuesday.

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy was thoroughly disappointed afterward.

“They outrebounded us by 11, we gave them 13 threes and our ball movement was just ridiculous in the second half,” he told reporters after watching his team squander an 18-point lead. “We’re playing everything one-on-one and wouldn’t pass the ball. That’s why we ended up where we are.”

Cousins won his matchup with Drummond, outscoring his rival 24-9 and outrebounding him 13-12. Cousins also had six assists in the win, while Drummond made things tough on his opponent with seven blocks.

The trip doesn’t get any easier for the Pistons. They will play three games in the next four days, including a rough Golden State/Utah back-to-back the next two nights.

The Pistons gave the Warriors a battle in their previous meeting. It took 32 points by Kevin Durant, 25 by Stephen Curry and a 12-assist, 10-rebound double-double by Draymond Green for Golden State to scratch out the win.

Pachulia contributed seven points, seven rebounds and a steal to the win in 19 minutes.

The veteran big man had eight points, six rebounds and three assists in his matchup with Whiteside on Tuesday.

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”Nobody can make a move like Pop, I’m a very cheap version of him, if at all,” the Golden State coach quipped about Popovich, the longtime San Antonio coach.

”It definitely made a statement,” Draymond Green said.

Stephen Curry scored 30 points and the defense started rolling after halftime, with the Warriors taking their first lead midway through the third quarter on the way to a 117-106 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.

Once the 3-pointers began to fall, the Warriors were on their way.

Kevin Durant had 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four blocks and Klay Thompson added 18 points. With their 17th straight victory after a loss, the Warriors reached 124 regular-season games in a row without suffering back-to-back defeats.

”It’s deflating for other teams when we can get stops and protect the rim, get steals, force them into tough shots and tough misses and on the other end we’re just running it right back down the paint,” Curry said. ”We have to allow that part of our game to shine.”

Green had 10 assists for his 12th game with double digits assists and third in four, while Zaza Pachulia scored 10 points to reach double figures for the fourth straight game. Yet one for the highlight reel was Pachulia’s no-look, backward over-the-head pass to Curry after the big man got the ball when Durant blocked a shot by Cousins.

”We scored, right? Nobody’s going to say anything. If it was a turnover, first thing on the film,” Pachulia said.

Sacramento’s Rudy Gay scored 15 of his 23 points in the first quarter. Cousins had 17.

The Warriors woke up after halftime, starting the third with a 19-7 burst and outscoring the Kings 39-22 in the period. Golden State didn’t lead until Curry’s 3-pointer with 7:34 left in the third, following Durant’s tying 3 the previous possession. Curry hit five 3-pointers and has at least 30 points in three consecutive games.

Gay shot 9 for 17 in his second game back after missing four straight with a right hip flexor strain and 10 of 11. Cousins went 4 for 11.

”We always have that one quarter or one little stretch where we have bad basketball,” Cousins said. ”It comes back to bite us in the end.”

The Warriors went 3 for 14 from long range in the first half, then shots fell as the defense improved.

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Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors
When: 10:30 PM ET, Friday, January 6, 2017
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
PREDICTION: Warriors 116, Grizzlies 106

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors will seek to avenge one of their most lopsided losses of the season on Friday night when they close out a five-game homestand against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Warriors have lost just five times this season, once in resounding fashion, 110-89 on Dec. 10 at Memphis.

The two-time defending Western Conference champions have had a chance to avenge just one other defeat this season, and they did so big-time, blasting the Los Angeles Lakers 149-106.

That came 19 days after the Lakers’ 117-97 win over the Warriors.

This time, Golden State has had 27 days to stew over the loss at Memphis.

The last time they lost a regular-season game to the Grizzlies (105-98 on Dec. 16, 2014), the Warriors rebounded with a 23-point thumping in their next meeting.

Golden State hadn’t lost to the Grizzlies again until last month’s debacle. The Warriors swept last year’s season series 4-0.

Speaking of 4-0, that’s the record on their current homestand that the Warriors will take into Friday’s game. All four wins have come by between eight and 10 points.

Golden State is coming off a tough 125-117 win over Portland in which Stephen Curry erupted for 35 points. It was his highest output since Nov. 7, and required his second-highest number of shots (25).

Curry, who had attempted more than 20 shots in just one of his previous 16 games, insisted afterward nobody had instructed him to shoot more.

“I’m not going to fall into the temptation of abandoning what makes us successful just to say I shot more,” he said. “The way (the Trail Blazers) defended, I got a lot of shots out of the pick-and-roll.”

The Grizzlies (22-16) have struggled defensively of late. They’ve lost four of six, allowing 112 or more points in each of the defeats.

On the other hand, they held Oklahoma City to 80 and Sacramento to 98 in their two wins during the mini-slump.

Grizzlies coach David Fizdale noted in the wake of Wednesday’s 115-106 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers that he believes his team knows what it’ll take to turn things around against the Warriors in the finale of a four-game trip.

“If you can’t be up to play Golden State, then you are in the wrong business,” the former Warriors assistant said. “I look at every game as an opportunity to turn it around. We obviously aren’t defending at the levels we like. We gave up 116 (Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers) and 115 (against the Clippers). That’s very uncharacteristic of us.”

Memphis held Curry to 17 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field and backcourt sidekick Klay Thompson to eight points also on 4-of-14 shooting in last month’s meeting. Golden State shot just 44.2 percent in the game and the league leaders in assists at 31.2 per game were limited to 15.

The Warriors registered 31 assists in Wednesday’s win over Portland. They are 24-1 when they’ve reached 30 this season.

No other team has 30 or more assists in a game more than six times this season.

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Portland Trail Blazers vs. Golden State Warriors
When: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, KGW (Portland), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
PREDICTION: Warriors 124, Trail Blazers 103

Oddsmakers currently have the Warriors listed as 16-point favorites versus the Trail Blazers, while the game’s total has not yet been posted.

OAKLAND, Calif. — The calendar has flipped, and so, too, have the fortunes of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Or so they hope.

The Trail Blazers, struggling as the calendar year 2016 came to a close, will look for a second straight victory in 2017 when they visit the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

Considered an up-and-comer after upsetting the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs last season before battling the Warriors through five tough games in the Western semifinals, the Trail Blazers ranked among the league’s biggest disappointments through December. Portland has lost 11 of 13 to drop to 14-21.

If 14-21 sounds familiar, that’s because it’s exactly where the Trail Blazers stood a year earlier. Portland righted the ship with an 8-5 January en route to a 44-38 final record and a No. 5 playoff seeding.

Portland, now 15-21, hopes a 95-89 win at Minnesota on New Year’s Day propels it in the same direction this season.

The 89 points allowed to the Timberwolves marked the fourth time in the last six games that the Trail Blazers have held an opponent under 100. That happened only 25 times in the first 30 games.

The club has embraced a more aggressive defensive game plan, versatile forward Al-Farouq Aminu insisted in the wake of the Minnesota win.

“The more you win with something, the more comfort level you have with it,” he noted. “If you’re not getting a win, you’re not going to want to do it again, even if it was effective. Now that we’re getting wins when we are doing it just makes you more eager to do it.”

The Trail Blazers surely need to try something new against the Warriors. Golden State has burned Portland for two of its five highest outputs this season in 127-104 and 135-90 thumpings.

The Warriors have attacked the Portland defense from every angle, with Kevin Durant averaging 27.0 points, Stephen Curry burying 10 3-pointers and Draymond Green contributing 10.0 rebounds and 11.0 assists per win.

Golden State (30-5) enters the game with a full head of steam, having won 10 of 11 by averaging 115.7 points per game.

The Warriors’ depth of talent was on full display Monday in their 127-119 home win over Denver. Six players scored in double figures, including Green, who recorded a 15-point, 13-assist, 10-rebound triple-double.

“That’s kind of who we are,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of the balanced attack. “A lot of people sharing the ball and sharing the shots. KD (Durant) and Klay (Thompson) with 19 (points), and Steph with 18. They have really figured out how to play together. When to attack and when to defer. It’s great so see.”

The Warriors have opened a five-game homestand with wins over Toronto, Dallas and Denver.

Portland, meanwhile, has been off since Sunday’s win at Minnesota. The Trail Blazers return to Oregon on Thursday night to begin a stretch of four of five at home, starting with the Los Angeles Lakers.

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The team announced Tuesday that the ceremony will be Jan. 17 at the site of the Chase Center near the San Francisco Giants’ downtown baseball stadium.

The Warriors are preparing to move from Oakland to San Francisco in time for the 2019-20 season.

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Golden State Warriors vs. Utah Jazz
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah

TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), ROOT (Utah)
PREDICTION: Jazz 113, Warriors 111

Oddsmakers currently have the Warriors listed as 7½-point favorites versus the Jazz, while the game’s total is sitting at 213.

SALT LAKE CITY — Slowing down Golden State’s offense is a bit like trying to move a mountain with bare hands. The Warriors are scorching one defense after another with their ability to relentlessly score from anywhere on the floor.

Golden State (19-3) is averaging 130.5 points per game in the month of December. The Warriors have won their last two games by an average of 27.3 points, with the latest result being a 115-98 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

Their big three of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson have been virtually unstoppable over the past four contests. Thompson is averaging 31.3 points on 48.9 percent shooting. Curry is scoring 22.8 points per game on 47.6 percent shooting and dishing out 6.0 assists. Durant is chipping in 23.8 points on 47.0 percent shooting and collecting 8.3 rebounds.

This sort of offensive efficiency is no fluke. Golden State leads the NBA in field-goal percentage (.502) and is the only team in the league shooting above 50 percent. The Warriors are also league leaders in assists (32.0) and scoring (120.0).

It’s reached a point where Golden State almost demands perfection and a 115-point outing against the Clippers is a bit of a disappointment.

“Honestly, I don’t think we played well offensively tonight,” Draymond Green said after Thursday’s game. “We missed a lot of shots that we normally make. The flow wasn’t really there. But the most important thing is we defended and didn’t turn the ball over. And when you don’t turn the ball over and you defend, you give yourself a chance to win every game.”

Dealing with such a potent offense will be challenging even for one the NBA’s best defensive teams. The Utah Jazz are allowing just 95.5 points per game this season and have given up only 93.0 points per contest in 11 home contests.

Containing Golden State at that level will be nearly impossible for Utah, which has just 11 available players for Thursday. George Hill (sprained toe), Rodney Hood (hamstring strain), Derrick Favors (knee contusion) and Alec Burks (ankle rehabilitation) will not play against the Warriors.

Gordon Hayward is also banged up after injuring the same finger he fractured during the preseason in Tuesday’s 112-105 win over Phoenix. Hayward left during the third quarter to get the finger examined and returned for the fourth quarter. His finger was bruised and swollen after the game but, fortunately for Utah, not broken.

“It was stinging, so I wanted to make sure everything was fine before I came back,” Hayward said. “Sometimes, you just have to let pain dissipate a little bit. We put some spray on it and re-wrapped it. It’s not broken. We X-rayed it and it’s fine.”

A troubling trend has emerged for the Jazz over their last three games. In each game, Utah has surrendered a double-digit lead during the fourth quarter and held on in the final minutes for a victory.

Fourth-quarter sluggishness was really pronounced against the Suns. The Jazz scored just nine points over the first 10 minutes of the quarter and relaxed on defense, allowing Phoenix to rally from a 19-point deficit and tie the game at 103-103 with 3:07 remaining.

“I don’t think we’re playing our best defense at all,” Utah coach Quin Snyder said. “The ball has gotten in the paint too much. We’ve been playing teams that are just driving the ball. In some respects, when Rudy is protecting the rim, that’s good. But if you look at the lineups we’ve had, we haven’t had a lot of quickness on the floor. Guys got to be more disciplined.”

Golden State has dominated the series with Utah in recent seasons. The Warriors have won five straight and 11 of the last 12 against the Jazz. Utah’s lone win in that stretch was a 110-100 home victory on Jan. 30, 2015.

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Indiana Pacers vs Golden State Warriors
When: 10:30 PM ET, Monday, December 5, 2016
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
PREDICTION: Warriors 121, Pacers 101

It was Golden State’s eighth win by at least 20 points and it ran the squad’s record streak of regular-season games without consecutive losses to 106. “We’re a bunch of real pros. We don’t have letups that often, but when we do, we respond the best we can,” guard Klay Thompson told reporters. “I thought tonight was a perfect example of that. I don’t know how long we can keep that streak alive. It’s really impressive; I’m not going to lie.” Stephen Curry led the way with 31 points and Thompson added 26 as Golden State shot a season-best 62.8 percent and made a phenomenal 14 of its 21 3-point attempts, also a season high. The Warriors gave the Pacers their worst home loss in franchise history with a 120-83 triumph last month but Indiana has recovered to win three of five and star forward Paul George returned from back and ankle injuries in an impressive 111-102 win at the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

ABOUT THE PACERS (10-10): George had 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals against the Clippers in his first action since Nov. 23. Six others reached double figures in scoring, led by forward Thaddeus Young (17 points) and reserve guard Rodney Stuckey, who matched George with 16 points in just 21 minutes. In addition to George, starting center Myles Turner and backup forward C.J. Miles also missed the loss to the Warriors earlier this season and scored in double figures against the Clippers.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (17-3): Not that Curry, Thompson and Kevin Durant ever need much help on the offensive end, but the team must have enjoyed seeing reserve big men David West and JaVale McGee get more into the act in Saturday’s rout. McGee recorded a season-high 11 points in only 13 minutes while West reached double figures for the first time this season, also in 13 minutes. Golden State is 9-1 on the road and opens a five-game trip at the Clippers on Wednesday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Pacers shot a season-low 32 percent in their loss to the Warriors earlier this season.

2. Curry and Thompson have combined to make 33 3-pointers in the first four games of the homestand.

3. Indiana is 0-3 in the second game of a back-to-back.

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PHOENIX vs GOLDEN STATE
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 3, 2016
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
PREDICTION: Warriors 130, Suns 103

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors showed their vulnerability when they dropped a 132-127 double-overtime thriller to the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.

Unfortunately for Saturday’s opponent, the Phoenix Suns, now the Warriors get another opportunity to demonstrate their invincibility.

Golden State will put its NBA-record streak of not having lost consecutive regular-season games (105) on the line Saturday when they face the Suns for the third time this season.

The Warriors have lost only three times this season. The first two times, they rebounded with 122-114 and 116-106 victories, both over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The last time Golden State had a two-game losing streak was April 5-7, 2015. They’ve played the Suns six times since then, and won all six.

But the most recent win didn’t come easy.

In fact, the Suns led 111-106 in the fourth quarter in Oakland before Klay Thompson buried a pair of 3-pointers and three free throws during a 27-9 finish that produced a 133-120 victory.

That was Golden State’s fourth straight win after its Nov. 4 loss to the Los Angeles. The Warriors extended that winning streak to 12 games before Thursday’s nail-biter.

The Nov. 13 win over Phoenix also extended the Warriors’ streak of regular-season games without consecutive losses to 96, breaking the record of 95 that was set by the Utah Jazz bridging the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.

“It’s really a remarkable achievement,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said at the time. “Everybody is going to lose games in this league. How you respond to those losses says a lot about your team.”

The Suns responded well to a two-game home losing streak with an impressive 109-107 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

Phoenix once again demonstrated an improved defense in the win. Once statistically the worst defense in the league, the Suns allowed 107 or fewer points for the fifth time in their last seven games, a stretch during which their league ranking has improved two spots.

If the Suns are concerned about an aspect of their game now, it’s ball distribution. Phoenix actually had more turnovers (17) than assists (15) in the Atlanta win.

Now they’re up against arguably the best passing team in the NBA. While the Suns rank second-to-last in the league in assists per game (18.3), the Warriors are first (31.3).

In fact, Golden State recorded 30 or more assists in 10 straight games earlier this season, just three off the NBA record of 13 in a row.

The Suns haven’t had a single game higher than 27 this season. In fact, they’ve failed to accumulate even 20 assists in 12 of their 19 games.

“We have to play more team basketball,” Suns veteran Jared Dudley expressed to reporters at practice Friday. “We have to average 18 to 20 assists to give us a chance, because right now we’re not a great shooting team.”

The Warriors have held 27-19 and 32-27 assist advantages over the Suns in the two earlier meetings this season.

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OAKLAND, Calif. — Get out your erasers, NBA historians. The Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors could be shooting for a record when they meet for the first time this season Thursday night.

The Rockets will put their streak of having made at least 10 3-pointers in 17 straight games on the line against a team that owned the NBA perimeter last year.

Houston’s James Harden (55), Eric Gordon (55) and Trevor Ariza (52) all rank among the Top 10 this season in 3-pointers made, and Ryan Anderson (45) isn’t far outside the group, lifting the Rockets (13.8 per game) into a tie with Cleveland for the team lead.

Both are attempting to unseat the Warriors as the reigning 3-point kings. Golden State (13.1) easily outdistanced the field in 3-point success last year.

Along the way, the Warriors (21) combined with the Dallas Mavericks (18) to set an NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a game (39) on March 25, 2016.

The Warriors and Rockets get their first crack at bettering that mark this season on Thursday night.

Houston has moved ahead of Golden State in the category this season by shooting more often from 3-point distance and doing it with greater accuracy.

In their first season under coach Mike D’Antoni, the Rockets have increased their 3-point attempts from 30.9 per game to 36.6, and their percentage of success from 34.7 to 37.8.

Other than embracing the up-tempo style of D’Antoni, three big reasons for the Rockets’ uptick in 3’s are Gordon, who is shooting more often from downtown (7.9 attempts per game, up from 6.5), Ariza, who has connected on a career-best 39.7 percent so far this season, and Anderson, a 42.2 percent career 3-point shooter who was signed to a four-year, $80 million deal in July.

“Obviously, we built this team to put shooters around James,” Anderson said recently of Harden, who leads the NBA with 11.9 assists per game. “They’re all good shots.”

Alas, while the Rockets have scored big from beyond the arc this season, they’ve also given up 3’s in bundles. Opponents are averaging 9.9 made 3’s on 38.2-percent accuracy, figures that are seventh- and second-highest in the league.

The Warriors, by their own high standards, have opened the season a bit cold from beyond the arc. They have attempted the same number as last season (31.6 per game), but their percentage of success has fallen from a league-best 41.6 to 38.4.

Guard Klay Thompson is the biggest reason for the decline, and at same time, a big reason to believe Golden State can once again overtake the Rockets (and Cavaliers) in the category.

A career 41.7-percent shooter on 3’s, Thompson has made only 36.5 percent this season.

That number is a bit misleading, however. He began the season 11-for-53 (20.8 percent) through seven games, but has since made 39 of 84 (46.4 percent) in his last 11 outings.

The Warriors (16-2) have won each of those last 11 games, and will take a 12-game winning streak, third longest in franchise history, into Thursday’s game.

One key for the Warriors: They lead the league in overall shooting percentage (50.2) while keeping up the third-fastest pace of play (100.5 possessions per 48 minutes).

“We want to play fast. We want as many possessions as possible,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters earlier this week. “If we can play a high-possession game, play with pace and be at 2/1 (assists/turnovers ratio), I’m really comfortable with that.”

The Rockets (11-7) are coming off a 120-101 loss at Utah on Tuesday night, their third stop on a five-game trip.

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TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
PREDICTION: Warriors 110, Hawks 95

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors will seek to extend their winning streak to 12 games when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.

The Warriors (15-2) saw their run of 10 straight games with at least 30 assists end Saturday during a 115-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

However, Golden State shot 55.6 percent from the field and hit half of its 22 3-point attempts. The Warriors got 34 points from Stephen Curry, 28 from Kevin Durant and 23 from Klay Thompson.

The Warriors are 7-0 when Curry, Durant and Thompson all score at least 20 points in the same game.

Golden State began a five-game homestand with the comfortable win over Minnesota despite being without Draymond Green, who sat out because of a sprained left ankle. He is questionable for the Monday game.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Green was missed.

“It was just not having Draymond out there,” Kerr said while discussing the team’s 25 assists, five shy of keeping alive the NBA’s second-longest, all-time streak of 30-plus assists. “It changes our ball movement and the force that we played with. He’s handling the ball so often for us that you take him out of there, it changes things.”

Kevon Looney made his first career start in Green’s place and contributed six points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal to the win.

The Warriors will be facing an Atlanta team that played Sunday night in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

Coincidentally, Golden State entered their Saturday game against the Timberwolves under the same circumstances, having beaten the Lakers 109-85 the night before.

The Hawks (10-7) had no such luck in Los Angeles, losing 109-94. It was their fourth defeat in five games.

Atlanta’s one and only visit to Oakland this season means another chance for Warriors fans to ridicule longtime rival Dwight Howard’s free-throw shooting.

The Warriors intentionally fouled Howard on multiple occasions in his only visit last season as a member of the Houston Rockets. With the fans screaming in his ears, Howard obliged by missing eight of 10 from the line.

He is just 145 of 248 (58.5 percent) from the line in his career against the Warriors, having made 6 of the past 20. Often intentionally, the Warriors put Howard at the line an average of 9.5 times in his 26 career visits.

The veteran, a former Laker, responded to unappreciative former fans in Los Angeles on Sunday night with 19 points and nine rebounds. He did, however, miss four of five from the line.

Howard insisted after the game that the fans didn’t bother him.

“I closed my ears,” he said. “(The Lakers) are playing good basketball.”

The Warriors swept the two-game series from the Hawks last year, but it was a struggle.

The second meeting, in Oakland, went to overtime, with the Warriors needing a 15-point, 13-rebound, nine-assist, four-steal effort from Green in order to prevail.

Golden State was missing Curry (sprained left ankle) that night.

The win, the Warriors’ third straight over the Hawks and eighth in the past nine meetings, allowed Golden State to take a 143-142 lead in the all-time series between the rivals, who first met in 1950 as the Philadelphia Warriors and the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.

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