NBA Game Preview - Golden State at San Antonio

Tue Dec 31, 2019 7:00 PM EST

The Golden State Warriors saw their season-high four-game winning streak come to a halt after their opponent made a franchise-record 24 3-pointers against them.

The Warriors would be wise to guard the 3-point line on Tuesday when they visit the San Antonio Spurs, who knocked down a season-high 18 3-pointers in their last contest.

"That's what the league is all about," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after Saturday's 136-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons. "Opening up the paint so you get penetration and you kick it and everybody shoots 3s. Boring, but that's the game."

LaMarcus Aldridge made a career-high five 3-pointers en route to collecting 25 points and 12 rebounds as San Antonio posted its sixth win in its last 10 games.

The 34-year-old hasn't been shy about testing his distance over the past three games, going 9-for-13 from 3-point range.

"Now teams have to guard him all the way to the 3-point line instead of sagging off, clogging the lane and giving less space for everyone else," guard Bryn Forbes said in the San Antonio Express-News. "He's been doing a great job; he's been hitting them."

Guard Dejounte Murray also has been encouraged by Aldridge attempting more 3-pointers. He has 57 attempts in 29 games this season. Aldridge launched 42 times (making 10) from beyond the arc in 81 games last season.

"He shoots them in practice all the time, so I don't know why he doesn't get out there and shoot them in games," Murray said in the Express-News. "It's good to see him finally start shooting them. ... He rarely misses them in practice."

Aldridge wasn't as fortunate in his previous encounter with the Warriors, misfiring on all three attempts from beyond the arc in a 22-point performance in San Antonio's 127-110 win on Nov. 1.

Patty Mills picked up the slack in the first meeting with Golden State by draining 6 of 9 attempts from 3-point range to finish with 31 points.

DeMar DeRozan, who hasn't attempted a 3-pointer in three games and has made none since Dec. 6, had 29 points on Saturday to mark his highest scoring output in more than five weeks.

The Warriors were handed a healthy dose of their own medicine on Saturday, as the Dallas Mavericks flourished from 3-point range. The result was a 141-121 victory for the Mavericks.

Draymond Green recorded 10 points and eight assists in the setback, but those numbers didn't measure up to those surrendered at the other end of the court.

"I wish we could have made more stops defensively," Green said, "but they're a good offensive team. I think in the third quarter we kind of ran out of gas."

Golden State also briefly lost the services of D'Angelo Russell, who was involved in a scary collision with Luka Doncic. Russell was able to return to the game and finished with 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the floor -- including 9-for-14 from 3-point range.

"I'm good," Russell told reporters. "I'm good. It's part of the game, obviously injuries are part of the game. Thank God it wasn't nothing too serious, just a little shoulder contusion. The contact, hard contact -- kind of knocked the wind out of me, but I'm good now."

Russell has scored at least 30 points in three of his last four games and hit the total on the nose in the first meeting with the Spurs. The 23-year-old, however, went 9-for-24 from the floor and 3-for-11 from 3-point range in that contest.

--Field Level Media