Golden State @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 27, 2019 ) Golden State 125, Miami 126

The frustration is starting to get to Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who injured himself on Wednesday but sparked his shorthanded squad to a rare victory. The Warriors will try to make it back-to-back triumphs for the first time this season when they visit the Miami Heat on Friday.

The five-time defending Western Conference champions reside at the bottom of the standings this season and Kerr had been patient with his young squad until some defensive mistakes led him to break a clipboard on Wednesday, slicing his hand in the process. "We just had a stretch there where we were very careless," Kerr told reporters after the 104-90 victory over Chicago. "Particularly in transition defense. And we let them sneak behind us. Those are cardinal sins. We're 3-15 coming into the game, so every play matters, every possession matters, and you got to fight for everything, and I thought our guys did a great job of that down the stretch and deserved to feel good about the game and I'm really happy for them." The Heat are 7-0 at home but dropped to 5-5 on the road with a 117-108 setback at Houston on Wednesday. "We were pretty inefficient offensively in the first half even when we did get open looks," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. "We had a lot of open looks in that first quarter. Second quarter, we just didn't execute with efficiency and they took it from there."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS Bay Area (Golden State), FS Sun (Miami)

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (4-15): Golden State is still missing All-Stars Stephen Curry (hand), Klay Thompson (knee) and D'Angelo Russell (thumb) but got Draymond Green (heel) back on Wednesday to settle the young squad. Green delivered seven points, eight assists, five rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks in 24 minutes and gave Kerr credit for rallying the team. "I think we needed it," Green told reporters. "We always talk about just not get comfortable with losing. We've seen this movie a couple times where we're playing well, we get the lead, and then we lose it and lose the game, so I think that came at a great time for us and you got to give our guys credit. Everybody responded, which was important."

ABOUT THE HEAT (12-5): Miami was outscored 39-19 in the second quarter on Wednesday and it was already too late by the time the offense came alive in the fourth quarter. "We have to develop a competitive spirit when the shots aren't going in," Spoelstra told reporters. "That's what the second half was, really an exploration of competition for our guys to really understand how hard you have to compete, and to do it consistently and develop a mental grit and toughness." The team's competitive spirit was on display in the form of center Bam Adebayo, who collected 17 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in 40 minutes and even spent some time guarding Houston's pair of MVP guards - Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Rookie PF Eric Paschall leads the Warriors in scoring (17 points) and scored 25 on Wednesday.

2. Miami SF Jimmy Butler (illness) sat out Wednesday and is day-to-day.

3. The teams split two meetings last season that were decided by a total of three points.

PREDICTION: Heat 124, Warriors 103