Warriors at Mavericks
The Golden State Warriors look to extend their franchise-best winning streak to 15 games when they hit the road to face the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors secured their NBA-leading 19th win after downing the Houston Rockets 105-93 on Wednesday and hope to begin their three-game road trip by beating the Mavericks for the fourth consecutive time. Golden State is the 16th team in NBA history to start out 19-2 and Steve Kerr is the only rookie coach to win 19 of his first 21 games.
Dallas bounced back from a loss to the Southwest Division-leading Memphis Grizzlies with a 112-107 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. The Mavericks are the highest-scoring team in the league (110.5) - topping the 100-point mark in each of their last 10 games - and will likely have to beat their average to knock off a Warriors squad that has reeled off eight straight road victories. However, Dallas has won 10 of its last 13 home games versus Golden State and is 9-3 at American Airlines Center this season.
TV: 2 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area, FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (19-2): Andrew Bogut missed his first game of the season on Thursday with tendinitis in his right knee and he will be sidelined once again versus Dallas. Klay Thompson tallied a team-high 21 points while Steph Curry and Harrison Barnes - who shot a combined 6-of-9 from 3-point range - added 20 apiece versus the Rockets. "Some games are not going to be pretty," Barnes told reporters. "We know that if we're determined and stay focused we can get wins."
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (17-7): Monta Ellis scored 13 of his 26 points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter to lead four players with 20 or more points in the win over the Pelicans. Chandler Parsons - who has averaged 26 points in his last three games - is nursing a sore back, but is expected to play against the Warriors. "We'll be ready to go," Parsons told reporters. "They're playing extremely well right now and this will be a big test for us."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors have won five of the past seven meetings with the Mavericks.
2. Golden State has won 14 games by double digits.
3. Dallas is 10-1 when Nowitzki scores 20 points or more.