SoCal NBA Preview

LA Clippers (23-56) at Golden State (48-31), 7:30 pm

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - If the Golden State Warriors are hoping to return to the playoffs they will need some help and have to take care of business on Saturday. The Warriors look to keep alive their slim postseason aspirations when they host the Los Angeles Clippers.

Golden State stumbled last time out, dropping a 114-105 decision to the Denver Nuggets here on Thursday. Denver (48-31), which holds the tiebreaker over Golden State, has a one-game lead for the final off spot with three contests left. "We've got a job to do, we've still got games," Warriors forward Stephen Jackson said. "We can't sit and dwell on this game because we lost. Definitely, everybody's upset, but at the same time we can't do anything about it. We've got to get ready to play the next game."

Following Saturday's matchup, Golden State visits Phoenix before closing out the 2007-08 campaign at home against Seattle. The Clippers are also coming off a setback on Thursday, losing 106-78 to the Los Angeles Lakers. Elton Brand scored 22 points and rookie Al Thornton added 22 and 10 rebounds in the loss. After missing most the entire season with a ruptured Achilles' tendon, Brand has slowly returned to form, averaging 18.6 points in five games.