Green may miss Warriors' meeting with Kings (Mar 15, 2018)

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Sacramento Kings get a chance to win twice in the same season at Golden State for the first time since 2003 when they visit the short-handed Warriors on Friday night.

The Kings took advantage of the absences of All-Stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant to score a 110-106 shocker in Oakland in November. Willie Cauley-Stein led six Kings in double figures that night.

A healthier Warriors club got even with a 119-104 win at Sacramento in February behind 56 points from Durant (33) and Curry (23).

The Northern California rivals have two head-to-heads remaining this season, one at each site.

The Warriors could go into Friday's home meeting in worse shape than the last time the Kings visited. Curry (sprained right ankle) and Klay Thompson (fractured right thumb) definitely will not play, and Draymond Green (sore right shoulder) remains a question mark.

All three, and key reserve David West (cyst on right arm), were missing when the Warriors got key contributions from unexpected sources in Wednesday's 117-106 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Injury-replacement starters Kevon Looney (11 points), Nick Young (18) and Quinn Cook (13) all scored in double figures in the win.

Kerr applauded the effort of his lesser-used players, while at the same time explaining how injuries such as the one Thompson suffered Sunday at Minnesota could be a blessing.

"I actually look at this, long-term, as a positive," he insisted. "Klay plays every game. I think he's missed 12 games in his entire career. That's crazy: 530 out of 542 (games). It's not like these are minutes where he's just spotting up. He's running everywhere and chasing every opposing team's best guards. The guy is a machine.

"Even without the thumb (injury), we were considering giving him a game or two off here down the stretch. He's looked a little more spent recently. I look at this like a positive. I think this will be really productive in the long haul. It's not fun to deal with, but a couple weeks where he can get away from the game a little bit, heal, recharge the batteries and get rolling. It's probably a good thing in the long run."

The Kings, meanwhile, will take the 90-mile trek to the southwest in relatively good health and good spirits. They are coming off a 123-119 overtime win at home over Miami on Wednesday, getting 24 points from Buddy Hield, 22 from Zach Randolph and 20 from De'Aaron Fox.

Afterward, Randolph credited the Kings' organization for making an effort to win late-season games rather than stockpile ping-pong balls for the NBA Draft Lottery.

"We're building for next year," he observed. "It's great, coming in, playing in crunch time, being in overtime. Fox hitting big shots, (Bogdan Bogdanovic) hitting big shots, Buddy and our young guys getting experience. That's what it's all about."

The Warriors have beaten the Kings 39 times in 58 meetings since Sacramento swept the 2003 season series, winning twice in Oakland.

The Kings have won just one season series (3-1 in 2013) over the Warriors since then.