The clash between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday in Los Angeles is pivotal for both teams as they aim to solidify their positions among the top-10 teams in the Western Conference.

The Warriors (34-31) have lost three of their last four games and currently hold 10th place in the conference standings, securing the final spot in the play-in tournament. On the other hand, the Lakers have split their recent four games and are one spot ahead of the Warriors, with a full game lead.

Coming into this game, Golden State is looking to bounce back from a 109-99 defeat against the Dallas Mavericks, where Stephen Curry missed his third consecutive game due to a right ankle sprain. The absence of Draymond Green due to back soreness also impacted the team.

Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors with 27 points, supported by Andrew Wiggins who added 17 points.

Curry, who has been recovering from his injury sustained against the Chicago Bulls last week, has resumed basketball activities and rejoined the team in Los Angeles. While he participated in a practice session at UCLA on Friday, head coach Steve Kerr expects Curry to be in action on Saturday, pending an official decision closer to game time.

Warriors are eager to have Curry’s sharpshooting skills back on the court after facing difficulties penetrating the defense in their previous game against the Mavericks.

“Our defense was not the problem,” Kerr pointed out. “It was much more our offense. They had 13 blocked shots (and) a lot of that was just us wildly driving in at (center Daniel) Gafford without getting a body into him first to take him out of his shot-blocking position. And then just a lot of stagnant possessions. Not enough flow, not enough movement.”

Golden State has recorded only one win in six games without Curry this season, securing a victory against the San Antonio Spurs on the road.

The Lakers (36-31) are coming off a 120-107 defeat against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Despite losing all games against the Kings this season, the Lakers have split their series against the Warriors, with their last encounter scheduled for April 9, also in Los Angeles.

In the recent game against the Kings, Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 28 points, Anthony Davis contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds, and LeBron James nearly missed a triple-double with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists.

Despite their combined efforts, James and Davis struggled with their shooting, only making 13 of 34 shots from the field (38.2 percent).

“You’re gonna have nights where things don’t go your way, shots don’t go in,” said Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, whose team is 5-3 over its past eight games. “You have to find other ways to impact the game. … Just feel like it’s a lot of little things that we didn’t do as a unit.”

The Lakers will be playing their upcoming four games at home before embarking on a six-game road trip. They will conclude the regular season with a pair of away matches.

“We already knew we were in the gauntlet of our schedule,” James said. “We already knew (with) all the teams that were coming in … it was a tough stretch for our ballclub. … We’ve still been playing some good ball.”