Thunder at Warriors
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is coming off a 51-point explosion and is looking forward to a weekend that ends with his beloved Carolina Panthers playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday. Curry will need to keep some focus on the basketball court on Saturday, when the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Warriors.
Curry annoyed the Thunder last week when he suggested it would be a good weekend with a win on the court the day before a Panthers win in the Super Bowl. That swagger has been with Golden State all season, and the defending champs have backed up that bravado by matching the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers with the best 49-game start in NBA history and have yet to suffer a loss at home. As much fun as Curry and Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant are to watch, the meeting on Sunday also features the two most well-rounded players in the NBA at the moment in All-Stars Draymond Green and Russell Westbrook, who rank first and second in the NBA, respectively, in triple-doubles. Green ripped off his league-leading 10th triple-double on Wednesday at Washington while Westbrook needed only 22 minutes to record his eighth on Wednesday against the Magic and finished with a video game-like line of 24 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and 14 assists.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Oklahoma, CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (38-13): Oklahoma City is averaging 120.2 points during its five-game winning streak and has won 12 of its last 13 games while emerging, along with the San Antonio Spurs, as one of two legitimate threats to the Warriors in the Western Conference. "The reality is, as much as people want to say what they're going to say, it is the next game on the schedule and it's one of 82," Thunder coach Billy Donovan told reporters of Saturday’s showdown. "That's not downplaying. That's just the truth. Now everybody around may want to point and create different storylines and that's fine, but it is, right now, the next game against a high level, outstanding basketball team that we'll have to play at a very, very high level against." Westbrook has had no problem playing at a high level of late and is averaging 24.2 points, 12.8 assists and 11.4 rebounds in the last five games, including three straight triple-doubles.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (45-4): Green recorded a triple-double in each of the last two contests and added five blocks in Wednesday’s 134-121 win over the Wizards that brought Golden State’s latest winning streak to seven in a row. The Warriors are the third team in NBA history to win 40 straight home games (dating back to last season) and they are scoring at an even more prolific pace than the Thunder with an average of 123 during their last eight games and an NBA-high 115.4 on the season. The spectacular scoring binges from the likes of Curry and Klay Thompson even excite opposing fans, and the Washington crowd was standing as Curry went off for 25 points and seven 3-pointers in the first quarter on Wednesday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors have handed out 30 or more assists in eight straight games – the most in the NBA since the 1989 Charlotte Hornets reached the mark in 13 in a row.
2. Thunder backup C Enes Kanter is averaging 18 points in the last four games.
3. Golden State took three out of four in the series last season, with Westbrook recorded 17 points, 17 assists and 15 rebounds in Oklahoma City’s lone win.