
March 25, 2011
TORONTO (20-51) vs.
WARRIORS (30-42)
Coverage begins at 7 P.M. on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
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OAKLAND (AP) -- The Golden State Warriors are mired in a six-game losing streak, but may be hosting the right opponent to break out.
The Warriors have won six straight at home against the Toronto Raptors heading into Friday night's matchup in Oakland.
Golden State (30-42) returns home after an 0-4 trip in which it lost by an average of 18.3 points. The Warriors surrendered their highest point total of the season in Wednesday's 131-112 loss at Houston.
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"We are trying to develop and build things as a team," coach Keith Smart said. "This is a painful time we are in."
That pain could be eased with another home win over Toronto (20-51), which has lost by an average of 12.0 points in its last six visits to Golden State. The Raptors have dropped 13 of the last 17 meetings overall, falling 109-102 at home Nov. 8.
Toronto was unable to contain the Golden State backcourt of Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis, who combined for 62 points. Curry has excelled in three career games against the Raptors, averaging 32.7 points on 53.8 percent shooting along with 8.7 assists per game.
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The second-year guard hasn't been as productive during this losing streak, averaging 13.2 points on 42.5 percent shooting. Ellis has also struggled in this stretch with 15.3 points per game on 38.5 percent shooting.
"Our back is against the wall and we need to find a way to win," Ellis said. "We'll play it out and see what happens. We need to grind it out, play together and play smart and stay together as a team."
Veteran forward Dorell Wright was a rare bright spot Wednesday with a career-high 34 points, reaching 30 for the second time in four games.
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"It's OK but it's a team game and we lost," Wright said. "We didn't do what we wanted to do. There are no lessons learned, it's just basketball."
Toronto fell to 2-11 on the road against Western Conference opponents with Wednesday's 114-106 loss at Phoenix. The game was tied heading into the fourth quarter before the Raptors were outscored 28-20.
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"We didn't make any shots," said coach Jay Triano about the fourth quarter. "They went zone and we had open looks and didn't make them, and we didn't move the ball particularly well, but we still had open looks and didn't make them."
The Raptors have had problems with their fourth-quarter offense in the first three games of this five-game trip, averaging 19.0 points.
"We always can try and get better," guard Leandro Barbosa said. "We always can do more than we do in each game, so we know we could have won this game."
Andrea Bargnani scored 27 points and DeMar DeRozan added 19 on Wednesday.
Bargnani, however, has never scored 20 points against the Warriors, averaging 13.0 in nine games. His season average is 22.0.