Warriors at Rockets
The Golden State Warriors remain the two-time defending champions and the No. 1 team in the Western Conference, but the monotony of the regular season seems to be getting to the team. The Houston Rockets, who host the Warriors on Wednesday, are the hottest team in the league with wins in nine straight games - a streak that began with a 118-112 victory at Golden State.
The Warriors dropped six of their last 10 games and suffered a 115-111 home loss to the West-worst Suns on Sunday, snapping an 18-game winning streak against Phoenix. "It's a long season," Golden State guard Klay Thompson told reporters. "And we've been playing a lot of basketball for five years now, so you're not going to be perfect for 82 games - we've had too many missteps - but at the end of the day, that's the first time we've lost to that team in 19 games. So, it's ugly.” Warriors star Stephen Curry looked ahead to Wednesday as a chance to make a statement against another top contender from the West, and the Rockets had some fun with that idea. "I'm sure they are,” Houston coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters after watching his team earn a 118-106 victory over Charlotte on Monday. “Why wouldn't they? I'd be surprised if they didn't feel that way. They were going to make a statement. They were going to come out, they were going to play. They probably stated the obvious. If they didn't say anything, I'm sure they're thinking it. You know how today is. Everybody's got something to say. I've got something to say."
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, NBCS Bay Area (Golden State), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (45-21): Golden State can shake off a loss to Phoenix as one bad night in a long regular season, but an injury to All-Star forward Kevin Durant would be tougher to brush aside. Durant, who is averaging 27.4 points on 51.3 percent shooting, went down with an ankle contusion on Monday and is day-to-day. "I think he's going to be alright," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters after Sunday’s setback. "He had an ankle contusion, but I don't think it's bad. I talked to him briefly, he didn't seem to think it was too bad."
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (42-25): Houston worked its way into the No. 3 spot in the West with its recent surge and is two games behind second-place Denver entering play on Tuesday while sitting 3 1/2 games back of the Warriors. "With all the stuff we've gone through, all the ups and downs, starting from 11-14 or whatever after that, we're in a good spot and we still have a chance to legitimate make a run for the first spot," D'Antoni told reporters. "That's pretty good in any year in any scenario, even if we were healthy all year. … But we've just got to be sure we do our part. If that means our part is third, so be it, or fourth, so be it. But if we get a little help, then we've got a chance." The Rockets will play four consecutive sub-.500 opponents after Wednesday and get eight of the final 15 games at home.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Rockets PF Kenneth Faried (hip) returned from a five-game absence on Monday and collected 16 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
2. Warriors C Andrew Bogut, who was signed last week, has yet to make his season debut.
3. Houston took each of the first three meetings, including a 107-86 home win on Nov. 15.