Suns at Warriors
Whenever the two-time defending NBA champion but struggling Golden State Warriors turn in a performance worthy of their status, it seems they are ready to turn the corner. Golden State will try to validate its latest strong effort while increasing its Western Conference lead when it tries for its 19th straight victory over the West-worst Phoenix Suns on Sunday in Oakland.
“We had some lulls, but I think that is to be expected,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters after Friday's 122-105 victory over second-place Denver marked their second win in the last five games. "We are not going to flip it all around in one night, but this was a great start to getting back on track and playing like ourselves.” Golden State's Klay Thompson (22.3 points per contest) is slated to play his 600th game Sunday after scoring 39 points, including nine 3-pointers, Friday in his first contest since missing two with a knee injury. Phoenix's bid to match a season-high four-game winning streak fell short with a 127-120 loss at Portland on Saturday night, dropping the Suns to within 1 1/2 games of New York for the worst record in the league. Phoenix last defeated the Warriors 107-95 on Nov. 9, 2014 and has been outscored by an average of 16.4 points during the losing streak, which is the longest active slide in the league for one team against another.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Arizona (Phoenix), NBCS Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE SUNS (15-52): Deandre Ayton (16.6 points, 10.3 rebounds) scored 21 points Saturday, giving him 1,010 in 61 games, and only the club's top two career scorers - Walter Davis in 43 games and Alvin Adams in 53 - reached 1,000 in fewer contests. Devin Booker (24.9 points) had 23 versus Portland and has scored 20 or more in eight straight games. Kelly Oubre Jr. (14.7 points) scored 17 on Saturday and has averaged 19.6 over his last nine contests.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (45-20): The club re-signed Andrew Bogut earlier this week after he earned MVP and Defensive Player of the Year honors in his Australian league but the 7-0 center, who played with Golden State from 2012-16, must work out a visa issue before he can join the team. DeMarcus Cousins (15.3 points, 8.0 rebounds) turned in arguably his best defensive performance of the season with six blocks and three steals against Denver. Stephen Curry (28.1 points) is 48 points shy of becoming the fifth Warrior to score 16,000 points with the franchise, joining Wilt Chamberlain (17,783), Rick Barry (16,447), Paul Arizin (16,266) and Chris Mullin (16,235).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors C Kevon Looney recorded nine points and eight rebounds in 15 minutes Friday in his first game since missing two with a pelvis injury.
2. Entering Saturday, an NBA-high 58 percent of the Suns points came from players 22 years old or younger.
3. Golden State is 26-1 this season when shooting better than 50 percent.