Golden State Warriors

Steve Kerr announces all of Warriors' stars will sit out Saturday at San Antonio

Published Mar. 11, 2017 12:30 a.m. ET

Andre Vergara

Coach Steve Kerr announced that Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala all will rest Saturday night when the Golden State Warriors play at San Antonio.

It's a deliciously loaded decision — firstly because Spurs coach Gregg Popovich often has come under fire (and even been fined by the NBA) for resting his stars in road games. And secondly because it's a nationally televised, prime time game between the top teams in the West, and Kerr has been very vocal about his displeasure with the Warriors' post-break schedule, which includes eight games in 13 days.

But Kerr told reporters the only factor he considered in the decision was his players' health.

“It’s 100 percent health,” Kerr said. “Those guys are all playing big minutes, and this will give them three days before our (next) home game, and then we’ll have a whole week at home next week and a chance to get recharged. It’s my call and it’s the right thing to do in terms of the way the season is playing out and the way the minutes have gone and KD’s injury.”

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Iguodala seemed surprised by the decision, while Thompson and Green were OK with it; Green didn't interpret it as a message to the league. "The schedule's been brutal," he told reporters.

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With Friday's 103-102 loss at Minnesota, Golden State is in danger of losing three straight for the first time since ... you know.

The Warriors have lost four of their past six since Kevin Durant was sidelined, and Curry is stuck in a shooting slump. Curry scored 26 points Friday, but was just 10 for 27 from the field and 1 for 8 from 3-point range. And he missed an 18-footer in the closing seconds that would have won the game. Curry is shooting 29.7 percent from 3-point range in his past 13 games.

Before a two-game skid against Washington and Chicago last week, the Warriors had gone a league-record 146 straight regular-season games without consecutive losses. Their next streak lasted just two.

The only bright side for the Warriors who will be playing Saturday (but not for Adam Silver) is that the Spurs announced Kawhi Leonard won't play after he was hit in the face during Thursday night's loss at Oklahoma City and has entered concussion protocol.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.