Golden State Warriors
Feb 26, 2018; New York, NY, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) high-fives Warriors center JaVale McGee (1) against the New York Knicks during the first half at Madison Square Garden. USA TODAY Sports / Adam Hunger

The Golden State Warriors (50-14) will host the San Antonio Spurs (37-27) in a heavyweight clash between Western Conference rivals at the Oracle Arena on Thursday evening (Friday AEDT). The Warriors, undefeated since the NBA All-Star break, clinched their fifth straight 50-win season Tuesday with a comfortable 114-101 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

With the playoffs just five weeks away, the Warriors are yet to play to full potential. Against the lowly Nets, the Warriors squandered a big first-half lead and nearly allowed Brooklyn to steal one in Oakland. Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes the absence of veteran backup David West was a big factor in the performance.

"David's absence affected our rotation. The second unit that I played to start the second quarter was not a group that I have played a whole lot together this year maybe not ever. Maybe I'm letting them off the hook because they have to make better decisions with the ball, but we rely on David quite a bit with that group and we run a lot of stuff through him. I just felt like we were out of sorts with that group right from the beginning," Kerr said on the eve of the game, via ESPN.

The Spurs, meanwhile, the standard-bearers of the NBA for over two decades, are within two losses of slipping to the ninth seed in the West. Gregg Popovich's team has won 50+ games for 18 consecutive seasons, dating back to the 1999-00 season.

Not only are the Spurs struggling to get to 50 wins, their record run of 20 consecutive playoff appearances is in danger of coming to a crashing halt. A lot of their woes have been compounded due to the injury of franchise star Kawhi Leonard, who has played a grand total of 9 games this season due to a troublesome groin injury.

On Wednesday, Leonard addressed the media and said he was close to making a comeback. "(The pain) is diminishing. It's hard to explain, but I'm definitely better. I feel better, and I'm feeling more comfortable."

After hosting the Spurs, the Warriors, the reigning NBA champions, will kick-start a difficult two-game road trip with the visits to Portland (Friday) and Minnesota (Sunday) before returning home to host the Los Angeles Lakers next Wednesday. Golden State Warriors vs San Antonio Spurs live streaming, Warriors vs Spurs live streaming, Warriors live streaming and NBA live streaming info follows.

Warriors vs Spurs live stream: Watch NBA online
Date: Thursday, March 8 (Friday in Australia)
Start Time: 7:30 p.m. PT (Local Time), 2:30 p.m. AEDT
TV Channel: TNT (USA), ESPN (Australia)
Live Stream: NBA League Pass (Global), WatchESPN (Australia), NBA On TNT (USA)

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