The Golden State Warriors host the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, and it'll be their third meeting of the season. On Oct. 30, the Warriors were sloppy but won 106-100, on the strength of Kevin Durant's 36 points on 10-for-16 shooting. On Nov. 13, Golden State didn't defend that well, but its offense was balanced and brilliant -- Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson had 30 points each and Durant had 29 en route to a 133-120 victory.
The Suns will be rested -- they haven't played since their 109-107 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. The Warriors are coming off a 132-127 double-overtime loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
How to watch
When: Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET
Where: Oracle Arena in Oakland, California
TV: NBA League Pass
Streaming: NBA League Pass
Line: Warriors (-16)
What to watch for
Warriors bouncing back: Over Golden State's last 105 regular-season games, it has not lost two in a row. That's an NBA record, and it's a reflection of the team's remarkable consistency since Steve Kerr showed up two seasons ago. That streak will be on the line against the Suns, and you should expect the Warriors to respond to their 12-game winning streak ending.
Pace: Phoenix is the fastest team in the league, averaging 104.39 possessions per game. Golden State is third, averaging 103.04. This lends itself to high scores and highlights, but it might stress Warriors coach Steve Kerr out a little bit, especially after some poorly timed turnovers in the loss against the Rockets. Golden State has the weapons to be the most terrifying transition team the league has ever seen, but Kerr is always worried about the decision-making suffering during moments of chaos. When the Warriors hit that the right balance of pushing the ball and staying in control, they blow teams out.
Key matchups
Klay Thompson vs. Devin Booker: Fair or not, the 20-year-old Suns guard has drawn comparisons to Thompson early in his career. Booker, though, has a long way to go before he'll be in Thompson's category, particularly on defense. Through 18 games in his second season, he is averaging 19.1 points on 41.5 percent shooting, including 34.1 percent from 3-point range.
Booker has had a few scoring explosions this season, but sometimes he's had a surprising number of forgettable offensive games. The best part of his game, though, is that he's fearless. Do not be shocked if he is particularly aggressive in looking for his own shot against Thompson.
Kevin Durant vs. T.J. Warren/Jared Dudley/P.J. Tucker: Phoenix is going to have to throw a bunch of different bodies at Durant -- rookies Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender could get a shot, too, and there will always be help defense waiting for him. The Suns had no answer for Durant earlier this season, but in fairness, the same can be said for the rest of the league.
Durant took a season-high 28 shots and scored 39 points against Houston. Most of that is because he played 49 minutes, but perhaps he's starting to get bolder about his shot selection. Golden State swingman Andre Iguodala said this past week that Durant is still "kind of holding back" and "we're trying to let him know that it's impossible for him to shoot too many shots."
Pick
I'm going with the Warriors, even though the 16-point spread scares me. Phoenix has firepower, but it doesn't always play as more than the sum of its parts. Golden State should play with a purpose after watching the mistakes it made on Thursday.
