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Curry leads Warriors into Phoenix

Feb 8, 2014 - 3:04 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - All-Star Steph Curry is carrying a hot hand right now for the Golden State Warriors and will take his show to the road Saturday against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center.

Curry is averaging 30.1 points and 8.3 assists in his last seven games and has four 30-point performances in that time. He finished with 34 points and nine assists in Thursday's 102-87 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

The Warriors were without center Andrew Bogut and power forward David Lee due to injury, so Klay Thompson was needed and posted 22 points. Harrison Barnes and Jordan Crawford both scored 11 points for Golden State, which made 48.2 percent from the field and sank 11-of-22 3-pointers.

"We are a no excuse basketball team, so whoever is in uniform it is a great opportunity for them to step up and take advantage of the opportunity in front them," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said.

Jackson's unit used a 32-12 run to erase a 16-point deficit and rallied from 15 points or more for the fifth time this season. Jackson also notched the 100th victory in his coaching career.

Lee is out with a sprained left shoulder and is expected to miss Saturday's game at Phoenix. Bogut is dealing with a shoulder and knee issue, but is expected to play against the Suns.

Golden State, which has a 22-4 mark when holding the opposition below 100 points, is scheduled to play eight of the next 12 games on the road and has a 15-11 record outside of Oakland this season.

The Suns hope to get back on track when they open a pair of tough contests at home Saturday night. After the Warriors visit the desert, LeBron James and the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat come to town Tuesday.

Phoenix has lost two in a row after winning five straight and seven of eight games. In Wednesday's 122-108 loss at Houston, Rockets center Dwight Howard muscled his way to 34 points and 14 rebounds, and the Rockets scored no less than 27 points in each quarter.

Houston shot 63.0 percent from the field in the second half.

"Our defense hasn't been very good," said Phoenix head coach Jeff Hornacek, whose squad had a four-game road winning streak halted. "For us, we can't have the little mental mistakes."

Goran Dragic paced the Suns with 23 points, while P.J. Tucker, Gerald Green and Leandro Barbosa all scored 13 points. The Suns shot well in defeat, making 46.7 percent for the game, but were off the mark from 3-point range, finishing just 8-of-30 downtown. The Suns are making 9.3 3-pointers per game (2nd NBA).

Dragic is averaging 22.7 points per game in his last 21 contests and has scored 20-plus points 15 times in that stretch. Dragic, who was named Player of the Week in the West for Jan. 27-Feb. 2, has posted that many points during a six-game stretch, averaging 25.7 ppg in that span.

Only four of Phoenix's 20 losses this season have come by double-digits. The Suns suffered a loss of that kind to the Warriors on Dec. 27 in a 115-86 setback out west. The two teams have split a pair of meetings so far and the Warriors own a 7-1 mark in the previous eight encounters.

Golden State, though, has dropped 14 of 17 games in the desert.

The Suns are allowing 101.7 ppg and Golden State is posting 102.9 on offense.