Steve Kerr said he will continue "to bat" for Draymond Green after being "extremely surprised" by the one-game suspension handed out to the Golden State Warriors star over a stomping incident.

Green was ejected from Game 2 of the Warriors' playoff series against the Sacramento Kings when he was seen lashing out at the ribs of Domantas Sabonis, who appeared to grab at Green's legs when falling to the ground.

Initially it was reported that Green would be unlikely to be banned for the incident but the NBA league office confirmed he will sit out Game 3 of the first-round playoff series, which the Warriors are trailing 2-0 in.

Asked about his initial reaction to the news, head coach Kerr said: "I was extremely surprised and then immediately into 'Alright, what's next? How do we win the game?'

"There's no time to spend worrying about it or thinking about it or complaining about it, it doesn't matter, we know what the league decided to do, we have to respond accordingly and go out there and win the game."

Green's suspension was in part due to his past history when it comes to ill-discipline.

Back in the 2016 Finals, he was suspended after accumulating too many fouls in a Game 4 clash that ended with Green hitting LeBron James in the groin, having already been ejected earlier in the playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was also ejected in Game 1 of last season's second-round series versus the Memphis Grizzlies.

In 2018, Green was suspended by the Warriors following an altercation with Kevin Durant, and spent time away from the team earlier this season after punching teammate Jordan Poole.

"He's the ultimate competitor. Everybody knows he's going to occasionally tip over the edge and his emotions get the best of him. That's part of it," Kerr said when asked about Green's past misdemeanours counting against him.

"There's no stopping it. You're not going to be able to put your arm around him and say, 'OK, let's move forward'. It doesn't work that way.

"It's not anything we can control. Draymond is incredibly passionate and competitive and fiery and he's helped us win more championships, I've said it many times – we don't have a single championship without Draymond Green. That's the truth. He crossed the line over the years, but that's part of it. We will go to bat for Draymond."

Andrew Wiggins believes his court comeback is just a matter of time after he returned to the Golden State Warriors following a personal absence.

The small forward has missed 22 games for the Warriors since taking a temporary leave from the team in order to deal with a family illness.

Wiggins has declined to elaborate on the specifics, but was back with Steve Kerr's side for Tuesday's 136-125 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Now, with his return to the fold, the 28-year-old has set his sights on playing once again, having last featured against the Washington Wizards in February.

"I don't think it will be too long before I am out there," he said. "I felt really good right before I left. I felt like I was in a rhythm, was making shots, moving well.

"Hopefully, I'll be right back where I left off. [But] when you're in a certain situation and your family needs you and requires your attention and love, that's my first priority.

"My career, everything, family is always first for me. When I felt like I was in a safe space to come back, we got everything settled in a safe place."

Coach Steve Kerr effectively ruled out a role for Wiggins in Friday's trip to the Sacramento Kings, noting they would assess him over the coming week.

"We'll have a better idea in the next couple of days," he added. "There's no way he's playing in the next few days, I can tell you that.

"But I think once we have an assessment over the next couple of days, we'll have a better idea of when he might be able to play."

The Warriors follow their trip to Sacramento with their last regular season fixture, against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.

The Golden State Warriors might not like being where they are, but Steve Kerr is nevertheless enjoying the thrill of the chase.

Reigning NBA champions Golden State have endured a disappointing campaign, yet find themselves in the playoff places heading into their final two regular-season games.

The Warriors are fifth in the Western Conference after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 136-125 at home on Tuesday, although they will drop down to sixth after the Los Angeles Lakers face the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

Golden State trailed by four heading into the final quarter against the Thunder, but Jordan Poole turned on the style to lead them to victory, while Stephen Curry top scored with 34 points and Draymond Green chipped in with 17.

It got the Warriors, who were without Klay Thompson, back to winning ways following a loss to the Denver Nuggets. They have now won six of their last eight games, and head coach Kerr is revelling in the excitement.

He told reporters: "It's fun, this is all what it's about.

"We love the competition and even though we'd prefer to be home free in the playoffs right now, this is where we are.

"I'm really proud of the guys what they've done here in recent weeks to put ourselves in this position but now we've got to go finish the deal and get into the top six."

Poole starred down the stretch, with 13 of his 30 points coming in the final quarter.

"They all matter. You try to lock in as much as possible and put us in a really good position to be successful," Poole said.

"He's obviously extremely talented," Curry said of Poole. "He can create off the dribble. He's fast in transition.

"We kind of read the gameplan from them, so we just gave JP space, let him go to work. Our biggest thing is just being decisive on offense. Any time we fall late is because we haven't been decisive in our intention or play calls.

"JP played amazing down the stretch, then our defense allowed us to connect the game."

Moses Moody added: "It definitely had that playoff feel to it being out here in these games, how much each game matters, how much each possession matters."

The Golden State Warriors "didn't deserve to win" against the Denver Nuggets, with coach Steve Kerr lamenting a loss of focus from his team.

Golden State lost 112-110 to Denver on Sunday, with Klay Thompson squandering two game-winning three-point opportunities in the final five seconds.

The Nuggets, who were without Nikola Jokic, had led by nine points heading into the final two minutes and ultimately held on.

Golden State led 36-26 at the end of the first quarter, but their lead had been cut to three points at half-time.

Kerr pointed to the second quarter as where it started to go wrong.

"Up until the middle of the second quarter, we had total control of the game," he said. "Then we stopped playing. We lost our focus on both ends.

"We had control of the game and just handed that back to them. We gave them life and they took advantage.

"We were mindless out there and weren't tough enough, disciplined enough and ultimately didn't deserve to win."

The Warriors sit sixth in the Western Conference with just games remaining in the regular season.

Two of those are on the road, with Golden State 9-30 outside of San Francisco this season. That is the worst record by a defending champion in the history of the NBA.

"Most of the questions when we lose are about what went wrong, and you try to point the finger, but if we obviously knew what to do about it, we would do it," said Stephen Curry, who finished with 21 points in Denver.

"There's a sense of urgency on these last three games, and not only just the wins but the vibe that you create going into a playoff series.

"That does matter. We've got to come to a realisation that if we're going to win or do anything in the playoffs, this kind of game can't happen."

Steve Kerr was amused by the flashpoint in the Golden State Warriors' 127-125 win over the Dallas Mavericks that had their opponents plotting a protest.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban complained of the "worst officiating non-call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA", but Warriors coach Kerr was confident there was nothing amiss.

The Mavericks took a timeout late in the third quarter and believed they had possession of the ball, asserting they were told as much by the game officials.

What transpired was a referee call that led to Warriors center Kevon Looney scoring an uncontested dunk from a Jordan Poole inbound pass to make it 90-87 with 1:56 left in the third.

The Dallas players were not in position, leading to protests from Cuban and coach Jason Kidd, but the dunk stood.

Kerr teasingly said it was his season's standout ATO – after timeout.

"Number one, it was my best ATO of the year. It worked brilliantly, just the way we got organised and confused them," he said.

More seriously, he added: "I had to stop. When I saw them at the other end, I had to stop and think, 'Isn't this our basket?', because I had drawn up a play for an out-of-bounds [play] underneath, a baseline out-of-bounds.

"When they were down at the other end I had to stop and think, 'Is this right?'.

"I don't know what happened. You'd have to ask their side. I thought it was pretty clear that it was our ball and that's why I was drawing up a play out-of-bounds on the baseline.

"But they all lined up at the other end. I guess they assumed it was their ball."

Looney, who benefitted from the confusion, said: "I didn't know what was going on. I'm just glad JP passed to me because I needed that to get to my double-double."

Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson was relieved to finally snap a streak of 11 consecutive road losses after beating the Houston Rockets 121-108 on Monday.

The Warriors came into the clash against their once-heated rivals with the third-worst away record in the NBA at 7-29, having not won away from Chase Center since January 30.

It was far from smooth sailing against the 18-54 Rockets, as the home side pulled in front late in the third quarter, but the 'Splash Brothers' combination of Thompson and Stephen Curry refused to let another one slip.

They combined for 21 points in the final period, and 59 for the game as they each finished with five made three-pointers.

When asked after the win about Golden State's recent trouble on the road, Thompson said: "I think trouble would be an understatement – it's been a rollercoaster on the road this year.

"You'll take any win you can get, especially at this point of the season. We're fighting for our playoff lives and we responded well after a beatdown in Memphis."

While the current Rockets team is a far cry from the juggernaut that pushed the Kevin Durant-led Warriors to a seven-game series back in 2018, Thompson said he still uses those memories as motivation when he heads to Houston.

"We didn't look at their record," he said. "I actually told myself I was pretending we were playing the 2018 Rockets, where it was a battle every time we used to play those guys,

"They're still young, they're talented, and you can't take anybody lightly. Every win we get is just a huge win, so I think we all understood that going into the game, and although it was close there I think we did a good job in the second half of playing our brand of ball.

"[We need] extreme urgency, we've got to take every game so seriously. You always do – 82 games, it's tough to be great all of them – but nine left, we have to treat these like a playoff buffer, and I know we will."

Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters he could not even remember their last away victory, and believed his team got away with a mediocre performance.

"It's been a long time," he said. "I don't remember the last road game we won – it's been a while.

"January 30th? Thanks, that doesn't make me feel any better. But we needed it, obviously.

"I actually felt like we played decently in the first three games of this trip – lost all three, but had our chances in all three. I liked our effort, I liked a lot of our execution.

"Ironically, I thought this was the worst of the four games we've played on this trip, but obviously we were playing a different calibre of team. 

"The first three we were battling against those teams for the playoffs – Memphis have won of the best records in the league – and Houston have had a rough season. 

"We had to come in tonight with a focus that was unfortunately not there – that was the issue with the first half – but eventually we got there."

The win, combined with the Dallas Mavericks' loss, meant the Warriors leapfrogged them out of the play-in tournament placings and up into the sixth seed, where they have a half-game buffer on the chasing pack.

Steve Kerr praised Stephen Curry's ability to "put on a great show every night" as he recorded 50 points despite the Golden State Warriors losing on the road again at the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kawhi Leonard top-scored for the hosts with 30, but had far more help from his teammates as they ran out 134-126 victors at the Crypto.com Arena.

Curry did his best as he sank 20 of 28 field-goal attempts and eight of 14 three-point shots, but no other Golden State player was able to score more than the 19 managed by Jordan Poole.

While disappointed with yet another road defeat, coach Kerr was left in awe at Curry's performance.

"It's like when a guy's throwing a no-hitter, just leave him alone," Kerr said after the loss. "Let him sit in the dugout in between innings and don't say anything to him.

"It was stunning watching that show. Watching some of the shot-making, the playmaking. We're so lucky on so many levels to coach Steph, to play with Steph.

"Our fans, being able to watch Steph, he puts on a great show every night. But this ranks right up there with some of the greatest individual performances that I've ever seen from him."

It meant that Curry became the first player in NBA history to score 50+ points, make eight or more threes and shoot 70 per cent from the field while being on the losing team in regulation.

Draymond Green, who scored eight points with eight rebounds and five assists, was left frustrated that he and his teammates could not provide Curry with more assistance.

The Warriors suffered their 27th defeat on the road out of 34 games for the season, the most by a defending champion in the league's history.

"It sucks," Green said. "You just sit and think about what more could I have done to help him?

"When you get a guy going off like that, you need to find a way to capitalise on it. We didn't do that.

"There is always frustration after a loss. Yeah, I think we did play better, but at the end of the day, you've got to come out with a win. You've got to figure out a way to win."

Golden State (36-34) are sixth in the Western Conference, one place behind the Clippers (37-33), who have won four games in a row.

Steve Kerr is enthused by the Golden State Warriors' recent form, believing his team have "turned a corner" in their season.

The defending NBA champions have endured a difficult up-and-down year, not helped by injuries to Finals MVP Stephen Curry.

But as Curry prepares to return from his latest lay-off, which has so far spanned 11 games, the Warriors are hitting form.

They ended a 5-0 homestand with victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, improving to 34-30 in fifth place in the Western Conference.

"It's been exciting to see our team, I think, turn a corner," said coach Kerr.

The Warriors are only a game behind the Phoenix Suns in fourth place, giving them a clear target for the remainder of the season.

"You realise how important all these games are from here on out," Klay Thompson added.

"We want to do everything we can to have home court, especially in the first round. So, it's a great challenge, and it's there for us to take."

Thompson, who is scoring 22.1 points per game for the year, has averaged 27.1 points over the last 11 games while Curry has been out and 30.3 points across the Warriors' seven wins in that time.

"Guys have figured out their roles, and I think we are in great condition," he said. "We are having fun, above all."

All-Star Draymond Green's MRI on his bruised right knee has come back clean with the Golden State Warriors listing him as probable for Tuesday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr offered the positive update, having revealed on Monday that Green had suffered a "setback" after the injury "flared up" again.

Green has missed the Warriors' past two games, wins over the Houston Rockets and the Minnesota Timberwolves, due to the knee issue.

"[Green] practised today, so seems to be on the right track, but we'll see tomorrow," Kerr told reporters, having said Green was questionable before the side later updated him as probable for Tuesday.

The four-time NBA champion suffered the injury in Thursday's 124-111 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers when he clashed knees with Jarred Vanderbilt.

The reigning NBA champions are already without two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry due to a leg injury and Andrew Wiggins for personal reasons.

Golden State are seventh in the Western Conference with a 31-30 record.

Draymond Green has suffered an injury "setback" forcing him out of a second straight game, according to Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.

Kerr revealed Green's right knee contusion had "flared up", meaning he was a late scratch for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The four-time NBA All-Star had missed Friday's 116-101 win over the Houston Rockets due to the same injury.

"It flared up today," Kerr told reporters pre-game. "He will be more thoroughly checked today by our medical staff.

"It was sort of unexpected, the way he came through treatment yesterday, everything was looking good. He had a setback today, so we'll learn more today and we'll have more for you tomorrow."

Kerr confirmed it was likely Green, who is averaging 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists this season, would undergo an MRI on the injury.

The reigning NBA champions are already without two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry due to a leg injury.

Klay Thompson was hailed by Stephen Curry after a masterclass in three-point shooting for the Golden State Warriors, draining 12 from behind the arc against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It was only the seventh time in NBA history that a player has made at least 12 threes in a game, and Thompson joins team-mate Curry as the only ones to accomplish it twice.

Thompson holds the outright record of 14 three-pointers in an NBA game, achieved in 2018 against the Chicago Bulls, but this time 12 was plenty as the Warriors scored a crushing 141-114 win over the Thunder.

"That boy gooooood!" Curry wrote on Twitter.

Curry is out for the foreseeable with knee ligament damage, so the onus falls on the likes of Thompson to step it up for the 28-26 Warriors, last season's champions who sit seventh in the Western Conference.

Thompson put together a 27-point first half at Chase Center, finishing the game with 42 points on 15-of-22 shooting, including a 12-of-16 record from long range.

The 32-year-old Thompson is no strange to such big individual efforts. He has hit at least 10 threes on eight occasions across his NBA career, and he had an inkling something special was one before this game began.

He said, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle: "Every pregame when I’m doing my little warm-up I flip a kettle bell to see if it lands upright, and tonight it did. So I knew it was going to be a good one."

Thompson savoured what he achieved, saying: "It felt great, but what felt even better was the 43 team assists we had and only 16 turnovers.

"I think that was the indicator of how the night went. It has to be the most we've had all season and the ball was humming. And when we do that we're at our best. And for me, I'm a huge beneficiary of when the ball is moving."

The 42 points was Thompson's second-biggest haul of the season, beaten only by his huge 54-point game on January 2 against the Atlanta Hawks.

Coach Steve Kerr said: "That was probably the most fun I've had watching our team all year."

He praised the "magnificent" Jordan Poole, who had a career-high 12 assists and added 21 points.

"It was one of the best games I've ever seen him play, he was so under control," Kerr said.

"Klay was dominating with his shot, but Jordan was controlling the game, just running the show and taking care of the ball. Then he started scoring in the second half when that presented itself. He was brilliant all night."

Stephen Curry's knee injury suffered during Saturday's win over the Dallas Mavericks is a "concern" for Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

The reigning NBA champions had enough to close out the game, beating the Mavs 119-113 at Chase Center.

But Curry – who recorded 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds – was forced off in the third quarter.

Defending a drive, Curry was involved in a collision that instantly caused him obvious discomfort and prevented him from continuing.

The Warriors confirmed X-ray results came back negative, but more examinations are required to understand the full nature of the injury.

"Any time a guy's going to get an MRI there's a concern level, for sure," Kerr said. "So we'll just have to wait and see the results.

"This has happened many, many times over the years. So, fingers crossed he's OK."

Curry hurt the same knee only two days before against the Denver Nuggets, though Kerr was unsure if the two injuries had any form of relation.

If Curry does require a spell on the sidelines, Kerr and the Warriors can at least study their game from his last prolonged absence earlier this season when a shoulder injury forced him to miss 11 games.

"If he's out, then we move forward and we do have some games to look at, some game film to look at," Kerr added. "We'll be ready, regardless."

Curry's exit coincided with a significant drop-off for the Warriors, who went from 20 points up to having just a five-point lead with a little over 90 seconds left.

It is not the first time the Warriors have been unconvincing when trying to close a game out, with Draymond Green suggesting the players need to take more responsibility.

"When we get down the stretch, we stop doing the things that work," he said. "When the game is going down the stretch, it's hard for Steve [Kerr] to get a call in every time.

"You're under pressure, it's intense, you're in the game, you're not really focused on what's coming from the sidelines. We've got to do a better job closing down the stretch."

This victory took the Warriors to 27-26 for the season, leaving them seventh in the Western Conference.

Stephen Curry hopes the Golden State Warriors can now move well clear of .500 after improving to a winning record for the first time in three weeks.

The Warriors won five straight games over Christmas and New Year to seemingly get their title defence back on track, only for consecutive losses to return them to .500.

Curry returned from injury in their next game, another loss, but the Warriors had not been able to celebrate back-to-back victories since.

They finally did so this week as a win over the Memphis Grizzlies was followed by Friday's 129-117 victory against the Toronto Raptors, which lifted the Warriors to 25-24.

Now, the plan is to go on a run, Curry says.

"We just need wins in general, however we can get them," he said. "It's just the next one up and we've got to figure out the way to win.

"We've been teetering on either side of .500 for a very long time. I'm kind of sick of it at this point.

"We've got to figure out how to keep moving in the right direction and stack wins, no matter how we can get them."

Curry led the team with 35 points and 11 assists, and Steve Kerr saw evidence of his fit-again superstar returning to his best.

"It feels like we took better care of the ball," the coach said. "When Steph plays like that, the whole game opens up, the whole floor opens up."

But Curry, who scored 34 against the Grizzlies and 41 against the Washington Wizards early last week, felt he had already found his rhythm.

The point guard just hopes Kerr keeps leaving him out on the court, playing just shy of 39 minutes in this game – his third-most this season.

"I felt good, moving well, but I've felt like I've been doing that for a couple of games now," Curry said.

"It's just everything being in sync in terms of what I want to get to on the offensive end.

"Don't tell [Kerr], but I played a lot of minutes, and I felt really good for all 39, so I want to keep that up.

"I haven't got that question that much this season, which is nice. Just to say I felt great; keep it going."

Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid have both been fined $25,000 in separate on-court incidents from Wednesday's game, the NBA announced on Friday.

Reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry was fined for "throwing his mouthpiece into the spectator stands" during Wednesday's 122-120 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Curry was ejected for the act, which came out of frustration after not receiving a pass from Golden State Warriors team-mate Jordan Poole, occurring with 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter.

It was the third ejection of Curry's career, all involving his mouthpiece, having thrown it at a referee in 2017.

"He knows he can't make that mistake again," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game.

Philadelphia 76ers center Embiid was fined for "making an obscene gesture on the playing court" during their 137-133 win over the Brooklyn Nets, where Ben Simmons returned to face his former side at a wound-up Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.

The incident occurred when Embiid celebrated making a layup and earning a foul shot by emulating a gesture made by WWE wrestlers Shawn Michaels and Triple H.

Nets forward Kevin Durant, who was watching from afar due to an MCL sprain, described the act as a "trash celebration" on Twitter at the time.

Stephen Curry knows he cannot make the same mistake after his ejection in the Golden State Warriors' win over the Memphis Grizzlies, head coach Steve Kerr says.

Curry was ejected with 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter for unsportsmanlike conduct, having thrown his mouthpiece in frustration after Jordan Poole opted not to pass to him before missing a three-point attempt.

The ejection did not hinder the Warriors, with Poole scoring a last-second layup to clinch a narrow 122-120 victory that moved the franchise up to ninth in the Western Conference with a 24-24 record.

While the loss of Curry was not detrimental to the result, Kerr knows the outcome could have been different and the NBA Finals MVP must avoid similar actions in the future.

"I didn't see what happened at the time, so when the ref called it I was confused," he said.

"Then the coach told me he threw the mouthpiece down out of anger. I think that's an automatic ejection. He knows he can't make that mistake again."

Poole was quizzed on the incident following the win, as well as his interaction with Curry in the tunnel after the game, but claimed he could not remember what occurred prior to his teammates' ejection.

"I don't even know what you're talking about, I have a short memory," he replied.

"We just kind of embraced a little bit [in the tunnel], he's our leader, we would have loved to have him in the game for the last three [minutes]

"But we just found a way to grind it out, get a big win against a really good team, and now we just want to keep that momentum going."

Kerr was similarly keen to avoid any unnecessary drama, highlighting that the victory was more important.

"Was Steph Curry open next to him? We won, let's focus on the positives," he added.