Indiana @ Golden State preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 21, 2019 ) Indiana 89, Golden State 112

The Indiana Pacers bounced back from a poor performance on both ends of the floor by dominating the Phoenix Suns in a 112-87 triumph on Wednesday. The Pacers can ensure themselves a winning five-game road trip when they visit the NBA-worst Golden State Warriors on Friday.

Indiana had a five-game winning streak come to an end in a 118-88 loss at Utah on Monday but was a different team two nights later, when it held the Suns to 35.7 percent shooting while going off at 53.6 percent on the other end of the floor. "As I told our guys, I loved the way we responded for 48 minutes," Pacers coach Nate McMillan told reporters. "This is a scrappy team; they're going to play hard and I thought we were solid throughout on both ends of the floor. We established our defense. Offensively we had much better ball movement than last game, just a really good effort after a bad effort in Utah." The Warriors are losers of 12 of 13 games and followed a stretch of three consecutive competitive games by getting blown out 129-96 at home by the Jazz on Wednesday. "We're a young team, so we're going to have ups and downs," Golden State guard D'Angelo Russell told reporters. "I think we need to have consistent effort. One night we bring it, and the next night we don't."

TIME: 10:30 p.m. ET. TV: NBA TV, FS Indiana, NBCS Bay Area, NBA TV Canada

ABOUT THE PACERS (29-16): Small forward T.J. Warren was held to four points at Utah but busted out for 25 in his return to Phoenix, where he spent the first five seasons of his career before joining Indiana in the offseason. "It definitely felt good to come back to a place where I spent my first five years," Warren told reporters. "Like I said before, they gave me my start, they started my career. I'm very grateful for that and it feels good to get a win. Same approach as any other game to me. It's all basketball, it's all about hoops. It felt good to get a win." Warren is averaging a team-high 18 points on 51.3 percent shooting - just a tick above power forward Domantas Sabonis' 17.9 points and guard Malcolm Brogdon's 17.1.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (10-36): Golden State won three championships and represented the Western Conference in the NBA Finals in each of the last five seasons but is breaking in a young roster in 2019-20 while Stephen Curry (broken hand) and Klay Thompson (knee) sit out, and inconsistent effort is an issue. "I'm frustrated," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters after Wednesday's setback. "It's no fun losing. You've just got to keep pushing, plugging away. Nobody's going to feel sorry for us, especially after the last five years." One holdover from the NBA Finals squads, forward Draymond Green, returned from a two-game absence due to an illness and was held to five points in 25 minutes - his eighth consecutive single-digit effort.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Warriors C Willie Cauley-Stein went 0-of-5 from the floor on Wednesday after going a combined 18-of-25 in his previous four games.

2. Brogdon (head) left Wednesday's game and is day-to-day.

3. Golden State took the two meetings last season by an average of 27.5 points.

PREDICTION: Pacers 119, Warriors 101