The Docket 1/24: Freshly Minted First-Time All-Star Starters Square Off Friday Night At Oracle

April 09, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors bench of starters stand up for the final seconds of the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-89 to clinch a playoff berth. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA’s Western Conference All-Star team has a pair of first-time starters in Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love.

They meet Friday night at Oracle Arena when the Timberwolves (20-21) take on the Warriors (26-17).

This is the second of three meetings this season between Minnesota and Golden State, the first to be played in Oakland. The Warriors won at Minneapolis on Nov. 6 106-93 to take a lead in the season series.

Golden State is 28-17 at home all-time against the Timberwolves and won both games at Oracle Arena last season, 96-85 on Nov. 24, 2012, and 105-89 on April 9. The April 9 game was significant–that was the night the Warriors clinched their first playoff berth since 2007. In all the Warriors have won five of six at home against Minnesota.

Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.

The rest of The Docket for Friday looks like this:

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: USC Trojans (13-6) at Cal Golden Bears (13-4), 6 p.m.
The 19th-ranked Golden Bears are 5-1 in the Pac-12 conference, a half-game behind USC (6-1).

The Trojans lead the all-time series between the schools 36-26, but Cal swept three games last year, winning the regular-season home-and-home as well as beating the Trojans in the Pac-12 tournament.

Last year’s meeting at Haas Pavilion as a 71-63 overtime victory on Jan. 17, 2013.

NBA: Indiana Pacers (33-8) at Sacramento Kings (15-26), 7 p.m.
The Pacers come in angry, fresh off a 24-point loss at Phoenix Wednesday night on national TV. The Kings come home gimpy, with DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay both coming off leg injuries sustained in Sacramento’s loss at Houston Wednesday night.

Cousins (left ankle sprain) and Gay (left Achilles strain) are listed as day-to-day but neither is expected to play against Indiana.

That could be bad news for the Kings, who lost at Indianapolis 116-92 on Jan. 14 to open their just-completed six-game road trip.

Since moving to Sacramento in 1985, the Kings are 14-13 at home against the Pacers, but Indiana won last season’s meeting 97-92 on Nov. 30, 2012.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: UCLA Bruins (10-9) at Stanford Cardinal (17-1), 8 p.m.
The Cardinal (6-0) are the last unbeaten left in Pac-12 Conference play while the Bruins come in with a league mark of 4-3.

Stanford is 54-22 all-time against the Bruins and have won the last 16 meetings between the teams, including a 3-0 mark last season that included a win in the Pac-12 tournament final. At Maples Pavilion last season, the Cardinal beat UCLA 75-49 on Jan. 18, 2013.

Saturday Lookahead
NHL
Minnesota at Sharks, 7:30 p.m.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Loyola Marymount at Saint Mary’s, 3 p.m.
San Jose State at Boise State, 3 p.m.
Santa Clara at USF, 5 p.m.
Sacramento State at Northern Colorado, 6:05 p.m.
Pepperdine at Pacific, 7 p.m.