Warriors Tonight: Kevin Durant out for Brooklyn game

THE BASICS

Tipoff: 3 p.m. Sunday at the Barclays Center. TV: NBC Sports Bay Area. Radio: KGMZ 95.7 “The Game” in Oakland and San Francisco, KRTY 95.3 in San Jose, KION 1460 and 101.1 in Salinas and Monterey.

THE RECORDS

Warriors: 12-4, No. 2 in the Western Conference, a half-game behind Houston.
Nets: 6-9, tied for No. 12 in the Eastern Conference, eight games behind Boston.

WHAT HAVE THEY DONE LATELY

Warriors: After giving up a 47-point first quarter and trailing 74-52 at halftime at Philadelphia, Golden State roared back with a 47-point third quarter and dominated the second half in a 124-116 victory over the 76ers on Saturday night. Stephen Curry scored 35 points, including 20 in the third period. Kevin Durant had 27. The 76ers’ Ben Simmons had 23 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists. Joel Embiid had 21 points and eight rebounds.
Nets: Defeated what was left of the Utah Jazz 118-107 on Friday night at the Barclays Center. Spencer Dinwiddie, taking over at point guard for injured D’Angelo Russell, had a career high 25 points. The Jazz was without injured Rudy Gobert, Ricky Rubio, Joe Johnson, Thabo Sefolosha and Dante Exum.

2016-17 SEASON SERIES

The Warriors swept the two-game series. … On Dec. 22 at the Barclays Center, Golden State trailed 65-49 after a sluggish first half. But the Warriors came out of halftime and cranked up their defense against the most turnover-prone team in the NBA and won 117-101. The Nets wilted under the pressure, turning the ball over 11 times in the third quarter and 18 times in the second half. For the game, the Warriors scored 32 points off the Nets’ 26 turnovers. The Warriors were credited with a season-high 19 steals, five by Curry and four by Klay Thompson. … On Feb. 25 at Oracle Arena, the Warriors won 112-95. Golden State was without Kevin Durant for the first time last season as he rested a left hand contusion. Curry scored 27 points and Thompson had 24.

DURANT OUT

Warriors forward Kevin Durant will miss tonight’s game at Brooklyn because of a sprained ankle. The injury occurred during Saturday night’s game at Philadelphia. Durant is considered day-to-day.

SLUMP OVER

Stephen Curry looked like the old Stephen Curry against the 76ers, not the one who came to Philadelphia shooting 32.8 percent in his previous four games. He scored 20 of his 35 points in a lights-out third quarter, making 6 of 7 from the field and all four of his 3-point attempts.

TOUGH DECISION

Hard to say what was most impressive about the Warriors’ third quarter against Philadelphia. Was it their season-high 47 points in a period? Or was it the 15 points they permitted after the 76ers’ 74-point first half? For the quarter, the Warriors shot 68.0 percent (17 of 25) and 66.7 percent from 3-point range (6 for 9). They also held the 76ers to 31.8 percent shooting (7 for 22) and 1 for 7 on 3-pointers (14.3 percent). The Warriors also committed only one turnover.

DEPLETED BACKCOURT

The Nets’ Russell had knee surgery Friday, and there is no timetable for return. He had been averaging a team leading 20.9 points per game and 5.7 assists. The other half of Brooklyn’s starting backcourt, Jeremy Lin, went down in the season opener with a ruptured right patellar tendon. Now the Nets’ starting guards are Dinwiddie at the point and former Cal star Allen Crabbe.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

Warriors’ Klay Thompson vs. Nets’ Allen Crabbe: Crabbe, the former Portland Trail Blazer in his first season with the Nets, has started the past six games. He had 15 points against Boston and 18 against Utah. Crabbe has been known to hurt the Warriors in the past, averaging 12.6 points off the bench during the 2016 playoffs. With Crabbe being more of an offensive threat, expect Thompson, the superior defender, to take him and leave Dinwiddie to Curry.

VALUE BEYOND MERE STATS

Kevon Looney was one of the keys to the third quarter at Philadelphia. He came into the game with Golden State behind by 12. When he left the game 6:29 later at the conclusion of the quarter, the Warriors were ahead by 10 points. Looney had two points, four rebounds and a blocked shot during his stint, but raw numbers can’t measure his impact. He brought energy to the Warriors, and for the last 3:27 he was matched up against Embiid and held him scoreless.

CHANGE IN THE MIDDLE

The Nets look like they have given up on center Timofey Mozgov, who started the first 13 games. As the starter, Mozgov played 15.7 minutes per game and averaged 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds, The new center is 6-8 power forward Trevor Booker. He had 12 points and eight rebounds in his first start against Boston and 14 points and five rebounds against Utah

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

David West, who turned 37 in August, has turned back the clock is is playing as he did when he was a two-time NBA All-Star for New Orleans. His midrange jumper has been deadly all season. That shot was on display Saturday night when West came off the bench and scored 14 points in 13:21 on 7-for-8 shooting. His lone miss was on a 3-pointer. He also had seven rebounds.

NBA FINALS BACK-TO-BACK

After the Warriors the Nets get to face last season’s other NBA Finals participant, the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. Brooklyn has already defeated the Cavaliers once this season, 112-105 on Oct. 25.

JACK OF ALL TRADES

The Nets’ DeMarre Carroll, the poor man’s Draymond Green, is now with his seventh team in nine seasons. He is averaging career highs of 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds, in addition to playing us usual all-around game.

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