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Thunder-Warriors Preview

Mar 3, 2016 - 7:44 PM There's a chance Oklahoma City will find Stephen Curry in the one place on the floor it won't feel the need to have a hand in his face: the first row.

If so, he'll have a pretty good seat Thursday night to watch Golden State try to equal the mid-90s Bulls for the longest regular-season home winning streak in NBA history.

But if he doesn't miss a second straight game, the reigning MVP might have a little less space from 30-plus feet when the Thunder visit five days after Curry buried them in overtime in one of the season's finest games.

Curry sat out Tuesday's 109-105 home overtime win over Atlanta with a left ankle injury suffered in a 121-118 win at Oklahoma City on Saturday in which he scored 46 and hit the winning shot from 37 feet.

With three straight 40-point games, he was unsurprisingly named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 43.8 over four games as the Warriors improved to 14-0 over the past two seasons when he reaches 40.

It's the most productive four-game stretch (175 points) since Kobe Bryant in February 2003, and it was also a week in which he tied the single-game 3-point record with 12 against the Thunder, broke his own single-season mark (288) and set an NBA record for consecutive games with a 3 (129).

Should he again scorch Oklahoma City, he'll be the first player to score 40 or more in four straight games since Bryant from Jan. 10-14, 2012.

Curry and Andre Iguodala, who also was sidelined while dealing with tightness in his left hamstring, are questionable, though coach Steve Kerr said Curry is further along than Iguodala. Without those two, the Warriors still managed to extend their home winning streak to 43, including 25-0 this season with wins coming by an average of 15.2 points.

"I said, 'How many home wins in a row is that?' And everybody had a blank stare on their face, so our guys have no clue how many we've won in a row," said Kerr, who shot 56.0 percent from 3-point range in those 44 Bulls wins in two seasons spanning 1995-96. "It's a source of pride controlling our own floor. We've done an incredible job of that since last year."

Klay Thompson took on the offensive load without his backcourt mate, though he wasn't nearly as efficient, going 8 of 27 and 6 of 16 from 3-point range for 26 points. Draymond Green had 15 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists and also hit an off-balance 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 40.2 seconds remaining in overtime.

Golden State is trying to sweep the three-game regular-season series that could be a preview of the Western Conference finals, and the Warriors have also won four straight at home over Oklahoma City.

The Thunder (42-19) will certainly be seeking some revenge, though the second night of a back-to-back at Golden State might be a little ambitious.

Additionally, they're coming off what went from looking like an impressive win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night to a 103-98 loss. Oklahoma City led by 17 in the fourth quarter and ended up losing its fifth in seven games since the All-Star break.

Kevin Durant scored 30 points with 11 rebounds and is averaging 31.5 points and 11.8 boards over four straight double-doubles.

The point total might be even higher if the Thunder would take care of the ball. In the last three, they've averaged 20.3 turnovers, including 23 against the Warriors.

"They were disciplined and we weren't," Durant said. "I need to lead by example. I need to play with a passion, and hopefully it rubs off."

Curry's performance over the weekend overshadowed Durant's 37 points and 12 rebounds, but the Thunder star has averaged 37.7 points on 56.5 percent shooting and 11.7 rebounds in the last three meetings. That includes 40 points and 14 rebounds in a 116-108 defeat in Oakland on Feb. 6.

Russell Westbrook, meanwhile, has struggled with his shot in the series, hitting 33.9 percent in the last five meetings without a single effort better than 36.8.