Start Time: 4:00 PM PT, Amway Center Channel: NBC Sports Bay Area The short-handed Golden State Warriors will complete the second half of their back-to-back against the Orlando Magic. The Warriors will be without both Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala, making them thin at the small forward position. The Warriors lost a shocker last night to the Miami Heat, 126-125. Dwyane Wade hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer off the glass to secure the victory for the Heat. It was a vintage performance for him, scoring 25 points, in one of his best performances of the season. The Warriors trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half but took the lead late in the fourth quarter before Wade’s heroics. Klay Thompson continued his hot 2019, putting in 36 points and hitting seven threes in a losing effort. The Magic are fighting for a playoff berth and have won seven of their last ten but suffered a terrible loss to the New York Knicks, 108-103 on Tuesday night. Nikola Vucevic continued his career year, scoring 26 points and 11 rebounds, becoming the most consistent center in the Eastern Conference. The Warriors will look to sweep the season series tonight and win their 12th straight overall against the Magic. Their last loss against Orlando was in 2012. In the first meeting, the Warriors were victorious, 116-110 at Oracle Arena. Without Stephen Curry, Durant was a monster, scoring 49 points and dished out nine assists. Thompson also added 29 points with six threes and Nikola Vucevic added 30 points in a losing cause. Expect a competitive matchup against a desperate Magic team with the Warriors being shorthanded. Injury Report Warriors: Jonas Jerebko (right quad contusion) is probable. Kevin Durant (rest), Andre Iguodala (illness) and Damian Jones (left pectoral surgery) are out. Magic: Timofey Mozgov (knee), Mo Bamba (tibia stress fracture), and Markelle Fultz (shoulder) are out. Golden State Warriors Projected Starters PG: Stephen Curry SG: Klay Thompson SF: Alfonzo McKinnie PF: Draymond Green C: DeMarcus Cousins Orlando Magic Projected Starters PG: D.J. Augustin SG: Evan Fournier SF: Aaron Gordon PF: Jonathan Isaac C: Nikola Vucevic Three things to watch for 1. Who starts at small forward for the Warriors? With both Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala out of the rotation tonight, the Warriors are very thin at the small forward position. They might start Shaun Livingston but chances are Coach Steve Kerr does not want to play Livingston heavy minutes. He will most likely start Alfonzo McKinnie and hope he can provide the same energy off the bench to the starting five. McKinnie has been a great find for the Warriors this season, providing them with three-point shooting, a relentless rebounder, and an athletic wing. His three-point shooting has tailed off a bit throughout the season but his rebounding has been a constant for this team all season. In just 14 minutes per game, McKinnie is grabbing almost four rebounds per game. If he starts tonight, look for him to double that. He will also get more open opportunities to shoot threes because the Magic’s attention will be drawn toward Curry and Thompson. He will have hands full on defense with Aaron Gordon, an up-and-coming small forward in this league. He is uber-athletic, can hit the three and is much stronger than McKinnie. If Gordon gets hot, look for the Warriors to double-team and help McKinnie with his matchup. This is a huge opportunity for McKinnie and may turn his season around offensively. Hopefully, he can hit a few threes and that confidence propels him through the rest of the season and into the postseason. 2. Nikola Vucevic vs. DeMarcus Cousins The matchup between these two big men should be the highlight of the night. Cousins has been playing well lately, garnering four straight double-doubles. He looks to be in a good rhythm and that was evident in Charlotte on Monday night where he had his best game of the season. Cousins had 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, scoring most of his points in the flow of the game, rather being force-fed in previous contests. His opponent tonight might be the most consistent center in the game today. Joel Embiid is more skilled than Vucevic but Vucevic is much more durable. Vucevic has been healthy all season and the result has been All-Star numbers. Vucevic is averaging over 20 points, 12 rebounds and four assists per game. Those are Cousins-esque numbers from previous seasons. Both have very similar games. Both are skilled big men that can score in the post and from three-point range. They are both excellent rebounders, distributors and great free-throw shooters. Expect both to excel tonight because neither are good defenders. Cousins could be in a little trouble with this matchup if his last matchup is indicative of his defensive skill. He allowed Cody Zeller to score a career-high 28 points on 13-of-14 from the field. Vucevic is much more skilled than Zeller so Vucevic may be in the 30’s at the end of this game. But the same might happen on the other end too because the Warriors will have less firepower with Durant’s absence. Expect lots of points at the center position tonight. 3. Terrence Ross could the ex-factor in this game Terrence Ross is having a career year. He is averaging almost 15 points per game and shooting 38 percent from three-point range. In the only meeting this season against the Warriors, he had his most efficient game. He scored 28 points on 9-of-15 from the field and hit 4-of-6 from three-point range. With the lack of depth at the wing position for the Warriors, he might be looking at another big night. He is a very streaky shooter so if he misses his first couple threes, the Warriors might not have to worry about him. On top of his three-point acumen, Ross is still very athletic. The former slam-dunk champion can still get to the rim and has the ability to draw fouls where he is an excellent free-throw shooter. He is equally effective off the dribble and on catch-and-shoot from beyond the arc so it may not matter what defense the Warriors play if he is on. Expect Ross to be a key factor tonight for the Magic and if he puts up another 28-point performance, the Warriors could be in trouble.<doc-sep>Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle ORLANDO — Warriors forwards Kevin Durant (rest) and Andre Iguodala (illness) have been ruled out of Thursday night’s game against the Magic. This will mark Durant’s first absence of the season. With 61 games played, he is Golden State’s only player who has yet to miss a game.<doc-sep>
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Warriors star Kevin Durant missed Golden State's 103-96 loss to the Magic on Thursday night to rest in advance of what the Warriors hope is another long postseason run. Durant, who had played in all 61 games this season before Thursday, just needs a little recharge, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "He's just wiped out," Kerr said before Thursday's game. "He's tired. He's been going at it hard and playing every game. So with the back-to-back, we've been trying to figure out a good night to give guys some rest, and this back-to-back made it obvious -- [Wednesday] night for DeMarcus [Cousins], tonight for Kevin. And then Andre [Iguodala]'s sick so we'll obviously be short-handed." Alfonzo McKinnie started in Durant's place. Iguodala also sat out Thursday's game because of an illness, but it doesn't appear to be serious, as he went through a pregame workout Thursday. After sitting out the front end of the Florida back-to-back in Miami, Cousins will play. Kerr noted that every player on the active roster should get some minutes against the Magic. Durant's durability has been a major constant for the Warriors throughout his three-year tenure with the team. Kerr said he and the Warriors' director of sports medicine and performance, Dr. Rick Celebrini, have been in communication with Durant all along about which game would be best to give him a rest. "It's a big part of who Kevin is," Kerr said of Durant's constant presence in the lineup. "And, I think, part of his profile just how available he is on a routine basis. I think since he's been here, he had the one knee injury a couple years ago, but it seems like he's there for us every single night. So he's earned the day off, and hopefully a couple days' rest will do him some good." The Warriors finish off their four-game trip Saturday night against the Philadelphia 76ers.