Having Fun, Playing Well
The Golden State Warriors are in the midst of one of the best stretches in franchise history.
To keep it going, they’ll have to figure out a streaking Trail Blazers team when they visit Portland on Wednesday.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Golden State –5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 212.5 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 77% of bets for this game have been placed on Golden State -5 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
The Warriors (12-9) beat San Antonio 96-84 on Tuesday for their 12th win in 15 games. Golden State had not won 12 games in a 15-game stretch since going 13-2 from Dec. 6, 1975, to Jan. 3, 1976.
The surge has come after Golden State, which reached the postseason for the first time in 13 years last season, opened 2007-08 with six straight defeats.
Meanwhile, Portland (9-12) matched its longest winning streak of the season Tuesday night with its fourth straight victory, 97-89 at Utah. The win was just the second in 11 road games this season for the Trail Blazers, who are a far more formidable 7-3 at the Rose Garden.
The Trail Blazers, whose other four-game streak came from Nov. 7-13, will now try to win five in a row for the first time since Dec. 10-20 last season.
"The things that were causing us to lose early on were all easy, correctable mistakes," said Portland guard Jarrett Jack, who had 16 points against the Jazz. "I think we’re cutting down on our mistakes and just giving ourselves more opportunities to make key plays."
Martell Webster scored a career-high 25 points for the Blazers, who won despite the absence of interior presence LaMarcus Aldridge. The 6-foot-11 Aldridge, who leads the team with 18.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, could miss a week or more with plantar fasciitis, a painful foot condition that kept him from making the trip to Utah.
"Other guys stepped up. We’re learning how to play NBA basketball and we’re growing," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "I think this team can continue to develop and grow."
The Warriors do have recent history on their side, as they have won eight of their last nine games against the Trail Blazers. The only loss during that stretch was a 106-87 defeat in Portland on March 11.
Stephen Jackson had 20 points, Baron Davis scored 18 and Matt Barnes added 16 on Tuesday for the Warriors, who rank second in the league with 109.7 points per game. Golden State won despite shooting only 39 percent from the field and failing to reach 100 points for the first time in 11 games.
"Well, it wasn’t always pretty, but it was in the right column," Golden State coach Don Nelson said. "I thought defensively we competed and did a lot of good things and stopped the guy we needed to stop to win the game.
"We won a game in which we didn’t shoot very well, so that’s always a good thing."
Warriors guard Monta Ellis, who is averaging 18 points in nine games since Nelson inserted him into the starting lineup, strained his left thigh and was limited to less than 20 minutes Tuesday night. His status is uncertain for this contest.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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