For a moment there, it appeared that the Golden State Warriors’ unbeaten run in Oracle Arena was in peril. But alas, the Dubs still found a way to defeat the Houston Rockets on Tuesday to extend their winning streak at home to 42 games.
Now comes a tough second game of a back-to-back (and now on the road) against the Phoenix Suns. While the Suns have been far from exceptional this season, anything can still happen in the desert, especially in front of a Phoenix home crowd that’s clamoring for a huge upset from their team.
Let’s take a closer look at this compelling Pacific division matchup below. And for more of Wednesday night’s thrilling NBA action, head on over to our previews for Spurs vs. Magic and Lakers vs. Cavaliers right after this.NBA News & Predictions
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Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns Preview
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix
When: Wednesday, February 10, 9 PM ET
Line: Golden State Warriors (-16) at Phoenix Suns (+16); total: 219.5 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (47-4)
The Houston Rockets put up quite a fight on Tuesday night, but that didn’t stop the Golden State Warriors from pulling away with the 123-110 win and the season-series sweep for the second-straight year.It was another routine, stat-filled night for Stephen Curry, who had 35 points with seven three-pointers, nine assists and six rebounds. And Curry also found plenty of help from his fellow teammates against the Rockets as five other players scored in double-digits to stave off an 8-0 Houston run and a sudden five-point lead at the start of the second half.
Among those key contributors to this Golden State win is starting center Andrew Bogut, who arguably had his best performance this season. Bogut finished the night with 13 points, 11 boards, three steals and a season-high six blocks. The Aussie’s massive number of swats also pushed his career-blocks total to over a thousand.
What’s got to be of concern for the Warriors, though, is how they’re allowing teams to score all over them lately. They have given up 105 or more points in six of their last eight contests down to knock their season points-against average to about 103 per game, which currently ranks 19th in the league. Compare that to last month when they were in the top five in that category.
Still, when Golden State’s streaky offense gets rolling, look out. The Phoenix Suns already know what’s in store for them this Wednesday given that they’ve lost their two previous meetings with the Dubs this season, and both by no less than 15 points at that. Curry managed to light the Suns up on their own home court for 40 points in the first game, while fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson scored a then-season-high 43 points in the second encounter.
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Betting on the Phoenix Suns (14-39)
Let’s face it: the Phoenix Suns’ season is cooked. Their downward spiral continued this past Monday as they got blown out by the Oklahoma City Thunder, 122-106. It was Phoenix’s eighth-consecutive loss and their 23rd over the last 25 games.
The Suns had a rare six-point lead in 3rd quarter against a top-flight opponent, but they squandered that opportunity when the Thunder’s electric duo of Kevin Durant (32 points) and Russell Westbrook (29) went haywire. Clearly, Phoenix had no answer to those two All-Stars, even though the team statistically hung in well with OKC that night.
The Suns weren’t outplayed at all when it came to rebounding, defensive and turnover stats. Heck, six of their players scored in double-figures – led by frustrated star forward Markieff Morris’ 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and 9-of-13 from the line.
However, one category that they totally tanked in was 3-point shooting. Phoenix hit just one of 11 three-pointers against the Thunder, whereas the team is actually shooting 36.5 percent from beyond the arc this season – good enough for fifth in the league.
But even if the Suns regain their stroke from deep on Wednesday night, can their defense even contain the Warriors’ much more potent firepower? Odds are they’ll lose the impending shootout, as only Sacramento is worse in the league right now in average points allowed per contest, and their minus-6.2 point differential is also fourth-worst in the NBA.
Writer’s Prediction
Golden State cruises to its 11th-consecutive victory, 118-91.
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