Curry, Warriors aim to show star power vs. Clippers

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors fans will get a chance to greet Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green as 2017 Western Conference All-Stars when their team returns from a four-game trip to host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

While the Warriors were going 3-1 on the road over a six-day stretch, the NBA announced Curry and Durant as All-Star Game starters and Thompson and Green as reserves.

Sending four players to the midseason showcase is a first in Warriors' history. It had happened just seven times previously in the NBA.

The Warriors' Steve Kerr also earned an All-Star Game invitation in the past week due to his team having clinched the best record in the West at the All-Star break.

Kerr already has a plan for the Feb. 19 game in New Orleans.

"Those four will be (on the court) together for sure," Kerr told reporters Friday. "I can guarantee you that will happen at some point because that'll be a pretty cool thing."

The foursome played like All-Stars when the Warriors won 115-98 at Los Angeles in December.

Thompson led the scoring with 24 points; Curry had seven steals to go along with 19 points; Durant contributed eight rebounds and seven assists along with 16 points; and Green was the driving force on a defense that harassed Clippers star Blake Griffin into 5-for-20 shooting.

Griffin has played just five times since that Dec. 7 meeting, having missed 18 straight games following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He returned to play 29 minutes and record a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double in Tuesday's loss at Philadelphia.

But now it's sidekick Chris Paul who is out of action. He underwent surgery on his left thumb earlier this month and could be out until March.

Despite the return of Griffin and a seven-game winning streak earlier this month, the Clippers have lost nine of their last 17 games.

"It's so good having Blake back," Clippers center DeAndre Jordan told reporters after Tuesday's loss. "It's been so frustrating lately. We get off to a hot start, then we have two of our big guys go down.

"At our best, we're a championship contender. We just haven't been at our best in a while. But this is a good start to getting it right."

Jordan has been the club's big gun with his star teammates ailing. He has recorded nine double-doubles in the Clippers' last 14 games, having put up at least 20 points four times and at least 20 rebounds on six occasions.

He currently leads the NBA in rebounding (14.0 per game) and in field goal percentage (69.0), helping him earn a spot on the Western Conference All-Star team.

Interestingly, Jordan nearly became a Warrior in 2011 when he signed a four-year offer sheet as a restricted free agent. The Clippers, however, matched the offer to retain him.

The Warriors traded for Andrew Bogut eight months later, and have since moved on to Zaza Pachulia, who helped limit Jordan to 10 points and 12 rebounds in the earlier meeting this season.