The two leading teams in the West go head to head on Wednesday evening when the Golden State Warriors play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chase Center.
This will be the second of a four-game Western Conference road trip for OKC, who will be looking to get one over the hosts, having lost 127-116 when the two sides clashed a fortnight ago.
Match preview
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The Golden State Warriors were condemned to consecutive defeats for the first time this season as they fell 128-120 against the Brooklyn Nets at the Chase Center on Monday night.
Stephen Curry dropped 28 points and finished with seven assists to put the Warriors up by as many as 18 points in the third quarter but they fell apart in the fourth quarter, where they were outscored 41-28 by the Nets.
Four of the Nets' five starters finished with double figures, led by veteran Dennis Schroder, who knocked down a game-high 31 points, while Ziaire Williams dropped a 19-point 10-rebound double-double.
This followed a 104-94 loss against the San Antonio Spurs on November 24, when Victory Wembanyama tallied 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to inspire the Spurs to their ninth win of the campaign and deny the Warriors a third win on the trot.
Prior to Thursday's result, Steve Kerr's side were on a run of five back-to-back wins on home court, including a 123-118 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies and consecutive wins over strugglers New Orleans Pelicans in their October double-header.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder, on the other hand, moved into first place in the Western Conference power ranking as they rolled past the Sacramento Kings 130-109 on Monday night.
It was back and forth until Sacramento let go of the rope midway through the third quarter as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 37 points in 35 minutes of action out the Kings at the ax.
OKC had suffered two consecutive defeats in their previous two outings, narrowly losing 124-122 against the Denver Nuggets on November 7, two weeks before falling 110-104 to the San Antonio Spurs at the Frost Bank Center.
Off the back of a first-placed finish in the West last season, Mark Daigneault's men have stamped their names as genuine contenders once again and are on course to clinch the top seed for a second consecutive campaign.
The Thunder, who lead the way in the west, one spot above Thursday's visitors, have won 13 of their 17 games to start the season, eclipsing their run in the opening 17 games of the 2023-24 campaign, when they went 11-6
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Team News
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Jonathan Kuminga did not suit up against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night after picking up an illness and the 22-year-old is questionable to feature against the Thunder.
He is joined on the injury table by guard De'Anthony Melton, who has been sidelined since suffering a season-ending ACL injury in the game against the Dallas Mavericks on November 13.
Meanwhile, the Thunder have a relatively lengthy injury list as the likes of Jaylin Williams (hamstring), Nikola Topic (ACL) and key forward Chet Holmgren (hip) all continue their spells on the sidelines.
Off-season acquisition Alex Ducas missed Tuesday's game against the Kings through a hip problem and the guard is considered day-to-day while Alex Ducas has been ruled out since coming off injured in the pre-season clash against the Spurs on October 8.
Cason Wallace was forced off injured with a right ankle sprain in the third quarter of Tuesday's clash versus Sacramento while forward Ousmane Dieng has been ruled out for four weeks through a finger fracture.
Golden State Warriors possible starting 5:
Waters, Curry, Jackson-Davis, Green, Wiggins
Oklahoma City Thunder possible starting 5:
Wiggins, Dort, Hartenstein, Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander
We say: Golden State Warriors to win by 3+ points.
The Oklahoma City Thunder fell short when they took on the Golden State Warriors two weeks back and will head into this one looking to get their revenge at the Chas Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have gone a gear down in their last two outings, where they have blown two huge leads after a complacent display in the fourth quarter, but we are backing them to bounce back on Wednesday.
