The Golden State Warriors aim for their ninth consecutive victory when they travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder on Friday. The Warriors, who have the best record in the NBA, continued their latest lengthy winning streak with a 104-89 victory over Miami on Wednesday. The Thunder are coming off a 112-101 loss at Houston on Thursday but have won four straight at home.
The Warriors, who also had a 16-game winning streak earlier this season, have shown no signs of letting up, averaging 116 points over the past eight games and winning a franchise-record seven straight by double digits. "This has been so much fun," first-year coach Steve Kerr told reporters. "Everybody's playing, and we are winning. It's been a fantastic season to this point, so that should help carry us for a bit." The Thunder had a chance to get back to .500 for the first time all season Thursday but dug a 40-18 hole after one quarter and couldn't catch the Rockets.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), FS Oklahoma
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (31-5): Golden State is remarkably efficient on offense, scoring an NBA-best 109.3 points per game on a league-leading 48.4 percent from the field. The Warriors also lead the league in field-goal defense, though, holding opponents to 42 percent. Stephen Curry (23.3 points, eight assists) and Klay Thompson (21.3 points) lead five players who average double figures, and both stars average three triples per game and shoot better than 40 percent from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (18-20): Oklahoma City has struggled to find consistency, and that was no different against the Rockets, as the Thunder fell behind big early and couldn't recover. The slow start was especially disconcerting because the Thunder were coming off a five-day layoff. Many of Oklahoma City's struggles this season can be tied to stars Kevin Durant (24.9 points, 6.5 rebounds) and Russell Westbrook (25.8 points, 7.1 assists, 5.7 rebounds) missing significant time with injuries, but both have played in two of the Thunder's three losses to Golden State.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Golden State is trying to finish a sweep of the season series from the Thunder/SuperSonics franchise for the first time.
2. Oklahoma City allowed 16 3-pointers against Houston, while Golden State shoots 38.5 percent from 3-point range, second-best in the league.
3. Thompson has made multiple 3-pointers in 15 consecutive games