Warriors at Rockets
The Golden State Warriors had no trouble turning away a pair of playoff contenders in their last two games and are winners of five straight after sweeping a four-game homestand. The Warriors will try to keep that momentum going and avenge one of their few losses when they open a road-heavy portion of the schedule with a visit to the Houston Rockets on Friday.
Golden State faced one triple-double threat in Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook on Wednesday and let him fill up the stat sheet a bit but also forced him into 10 turnovers and locked down on the defensive end in the second half of a 121-100 triumph. The Warriors held the Thunder to 8-of-28 from beyond the arc and lead the NBA in 3-point field-goal defense, limiting opponents to 32.1 percent. That should come in handy against the Rockets, who hoist an average of 40 3-point attempts and connect at a rate of 37 percent. Houston missed its first 10 attempts from beyond the arc on Wednesday but knocked down 14 of the next 30 and pulled away from the Milwaukee Bucks in a 111-92 win in which triple-double threat James Harden collected 38 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), ROOT (Houston)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (36-6): Golden State star Kevin Durant dominated his former team on Wednesday and went 13-of-16 from the field en route to a season-high 40 points - one more than he managed in a 132-127 double-overtime home loss to the Rockets on Dec. 1. Durant's offensive efficiency is the perfect complement to the Warriors' offense, and he is shooting 61.4 percent from the field - 55.2 percent from 3-point range - over the last five games. Golden State will put its NBA-best record to the test over the next four weeks as they play 10 of the next 13 on the road, including trips to Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis, and Durant's return to Oklahoma City on Feb. 11.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (33-12): Harden collected 29 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists in that Dec. 1 win, and he managed seven triple-doubles in 11 games before coming up short in Wednesday's win. The star guard was 14-of-25 from the field on Wednesday but was more impressed with his team's effort on the other end of the floor after holding Milwaukee to 39.8 percent shooting. "We're realizing that in order for us to get to where we want to go, we're gonna have to get stops," Harden told reporters. "When we get stops, we are 10 times better because we get out, we get in transition and we get easy points, easy 3s and layups. (Wednesday) was a good start for us, we've just got to carry it over."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Rockets PF Ryan Anderson (illness) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.
2. Warriors SG Klay Thompson is 12-of-21 from 3-point range in the last three games.
3. Golden State knocked off the Rockets in five games in the first round of the playoffs last spring, including a 121-94 triumph in Game 4 at Houston.