February 25, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II (0) reacts after making a 3-pointer in the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Image The Golden State Warriors, without Stephen Curry, aren’t hoping for a miracle with less than a month left in the regular season.
The Warriors enter Saturday night’s road game against the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, who sit in eighth place in the Western Conference.
The Warriors are 5-7 during this stretch without Curry, who has not played since Jan. 30 as he recovers from a knee injury.
“For us, it’s just staying afloat,” Draymond Green said. “Nobody expects us to win 10 games in a row, but you just have to survive. You can’t let things go too south and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Golden State won 115-113 in overtime on Thursday in Houston when the Warriors had just 10 active players.
“I’ve probably beaten as many teams as I have in my 12 years with the Warriors,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
In Thursday’s loss, Golden State was missing not only Curry, but also Kristaps Porzingis (illness), Moses Moody (wrist), Gary Payton II (ankle) and Will Richards (ankle).
Porzingis traveled with the Warriors on this trip and was listed as questionable on Saturday. Porzingis has missed the last six games and has appeared only once since being acquired by the Warriors in early February.
Moody remains, Payton is a possibility and Richard is doubtful.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault looks forward to the game against Golden State, regardless of what players are available.
“I think there’s something about people expecting to win the games they play,” Daigneault said. “What I want to say about Green and (Al) Horford is this. … When those guys line up and tie up, they expect to win and when they don’t, they’re disappointed. It’s contagious.”
The Thunder are on a four-game winning streak and have won seven of eight since the All-Star break. Oklahoma City earned a 103-100 road win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Saturday’s game marks the start of a four-game homestand for the Thunder. However, things aren’t going to be easy for Oklahoma City as they close out their homestand with games against Denver, Boston, and Minnesota.
“We are looking forward to this expansion,” Daigneault said. “It’s obviously a really high-level opponent in all these games that will really test us and give us a good showing.”
Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein (calf contusion) and Alex Caruso (hip contusion) left Wednesday’s game with injuries and are both ruled out of Saturday’s game. But the Thunder were able to maintain their lead over the West despite rarely playing a full rotation.
Chet Holmgren has been a big part of that success and has been big against the Warriors this season, shooting 75.9 percent in three games against Golden State. Everyone won. He is averaging 19.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in those wins.
“I told him, ‘You’re an elite player. You’re elite on both ends of the court. If you shut down the offense and make you a garbage offensive player, you’re still elite because of your defense,” teammate Jaylin Williams said. “‘Even if you’re not elite on defense, you’re still elite on offense.’”
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 20 or more points in 124 consecutive games, two shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record of 126 points.
–Field level media
