Warriors stand tall for Miami rematch

OAKLAND —As they prepared to face the NBA champion Miami Heat, the Warriors seemed calm and collected at practice Tuesday.

Stephen Curry went down awkwardly in Sunday’s loss against Denver, but Warriors Head Coach Mark Jackson told SFBay there is no cause for alarm:

“He’s fine.  He did not practice today for precautionary reasons.  We’ll see how he responds tomorrow and act accordingly.  Cool heads prevailed and we didn’t want him out there, but wanted to give it another day of rest.”

Golden State stunned the home Heat 97-95 last December for their fifth straight win on a torrid road trip.  Wednesday night, the not-so-hot Warriors face the Heat on national TV having lost three of four.

But the Warriors don’t seem phased. After practice Tuesday, David Lee said that every game is its own battle:

“I didn’t realize we lost three out of four.  We just go out and try to fight each game. …Our biggest challenge is to not let one game affect the next.”

Coach Jackson echoed those sentiments, saying momentum wasn’t what was important in their last matchup against Miami:

“Momentum didn’t win that game for us. Refusing to let go of the rope, battling, defending, being committed to taking care of the basketball and rebounding, that won the basketball game.  If we do the same things, we look forward to the same results.”

The Warriors go into Wednesday’s tilt with a 23-13 record. They’re fifth in the Western Conference and second in their division, behind the Los Angeles Clippers, who they’ll face at Oracle Arena on Monday night.