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High-scoring Warriors, Mavs to bump heads

Feb 4, 2015 - 3:01 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The NBA-best Golden State Warriors will try for a third straight victory on Wednesday when they welcome the Dallas Mavericks to Oracle Arena.

Golden State leads the NBA with 111.0 ppg and Dallas is second (106.8).

The Warriors have won two in a row on the heels of a rare, two-game losing streak. They knocked off the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, then continued their domination of the Pacific Division with a 121-96 road drubbing of the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

Stephen Curry had 23 points, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals to lead the Warriors. Curry's fellow All-Star in the Golden State backcourt was much quieter on Tuesday than last time the Warriors faced the Kings.

Klay Thompson set an NBA record for points in a quarter on Jan. 23, netting 37 of Golden State's 41 in the third en route to a 126-101 Warriors win over the Kings. Thompson, who finished with 52 points after departing at the 9:28 mark of the fourth, made all 13 of his shots in the third, with nine of them coming from beyond the arc.

Thompson finished with just 14 points on Tuesday, half of that total coming in the third.

Marreese Speights posted 17 points and eight boards off the bench, while Andre Iguodala added 17 points for the Warriors, who have won seven of their last nine games.

"I love the box score. I love having a lot of different guys scoring," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said.

The Mavericks have won three in a row, but will play game one of a quick California trip and game two without Rajon Rondo. The former All-Star point guard suffered several facial fractures on Saturday and didn't accompany the team out west.

Dallas earned its third consecutive victory on Monday with a 100-94 home triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Monta Ellis scored 23 points and the Mavericks staved off a late comeback attempt from the T-wolves.

Boosted by Ricky Rubio's long-awaited return from a serious ankle injury, the Timberwolves pulled within 96-94 with 1:52 left before missing their final four shots.

Chandler Parsons added 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting for Dallas after missing two games due to illness, with Dirk Nowitzki going 7-of-10 from the field in a 16-point effort.

J.J. Barea, who started in Rondo's place, drove the baseline and converted a tough reverse layup for a 98-94 Mavericks' edge with 52.9 seconds to go. He then sealed the victory with two free throws after Mo Williams missed an open long-range look on the previous possession.

"He had some huge plays," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said of Barea. "We were struggling to score and they were hitting us with some buckets at the other end. The play along the left baseline was huge because I think (the lead) went from two to four. That put some pressure on them."

The Mavs will visit the Kings on Thursday.

The Warriors beat the Mavs by seven in Dallas on Dec. 13 and have taken four straight in this series. Golden State has won three in a row over Dallas at Oracle Arena.