North West Sports Beat

The Golden State Warriors still have things left to play for this season, and one of them is avoiding the possibility of a first-round matchup with the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs. To get that done, it would be in the Warriors' best interest to beat the visiting Spurs on Monday. Golden State has lost back-to-back games to slip into seventh in the Western Conference, where the Warriors would have to take on either San Antonio or Oklahoma City in the first round.

The Spurs are a game behind the Thunder after falling at Los Angeles on Sunday and may be more interested in resting up for the playoffs than going all-out in search of that No. 1 spot. The Warriors are tied with the Houston Rockets for sixth place but do not own the tiebreaker and would have to finish a game ahead of the Rockets to claim the No. 6 seed. Stephen Curry nearly willed Golden State to a victory over the Lakers on Friday but a gigantic free throw disparity and the absence of Andrew Bogut conspired to send the Warriors to a 118-116 loss.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Southwest (San Antonio), Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (Golden State), NBATV

ABOUT THE SPURS (58-22): San Antonio has lost six straight road games and will need to win its last two and have Oklahoma City lose twice since the Thunder own the tiebreaker. Tony Parker struggled to 1-of-10 shooting on Sunday while dealing with an injured shin and could have his minutes scaled back along with Tim Duncan, who played 34 minutes and scored 23 points in Sunday’s 91-86 setback at Los Angeles. The Spurs have dropped five of their last eight overall and are averaging 88.3 points in their last six road games. San Antonio has had its way with Golden State at home but lost its last trip to the Bay Area, 107-101 in overtime on Feb. 22. Duncan had 19 points and 18 boards in that one but could not quite keep pace with Warriors' forward David Lee, who collected 25 points and 22 rebounds.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (45-35): Golden State went to the free throw line 16 times to the Lakers’ 50 on Friday but still had a chance in the final minutes thanks to Curry’s 47 points and nine 3-pointers. The Warriors gave up a lot of points on the inside in that game without Bogut, who suffered a bone bruise in his left ankle the previous night and did not make the trip to Los Angeles. Bogut has become the anchor to Golden State’s defense since joining the lineup on a regular basis and will likely be out until the start of the playoffs next weekend. Bogut missed that home win over the Spurs, which snapped a 16-game losing streak in the series. Rookie center Festus Ezeli is starting in Bogut’s place and coach Mark Jackson is giving big minutes to a smaller lineup that pushes Lee or Carl Landry to center and surrounds the perimeter with shooters.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Curry (261) needs nine 3-pointers over the last two games to break Ray Allen’s single-season record of 269 set in 2005-06.

2. Spurs F-C Boris Diaw had surgery to remove a cyst from his spine and will be out well into the playoffs

3. Golden State G Jarrett Jack was fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of an official during Friday’s game.

PREDICTION: Warriors 105, Spurs 96