Pelicans-Warriors Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON

(AP) -- Stephen Curry and Anthony Davis may have made the strongest cases for MVP through the NBA's first month-plus.

The difference, however, is that Curry's team continues to find ways to win, while Davis' squad has had difficulties stringing victories together more recently.

The Golden State Warriors will look to match their longest-ever winning streak Thursday night when they host the New Orleans Pelicans.

Curry's 23.7 points per game are down slightly from his 24.0 mark last season, though he's shooting a personal-best 49.5 percent from the floor and his 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio is the highest of his career. He's also averaging a plus-14.0 rating that ranks second in the NBA behind teammate Klay Thompson.

More significantly, the Warriors (15-2) own the league's best record. They've won 10 straight since back-to-back losses to Phoenix and San Antonio on Nov. 9 and 11, pulling within one game of their franchise-record 11-game winning streak from Dec. 29, 1971-Jan. 22, 1972.

Curry took over in the second half of Tuesday's 98-97 home win over Orlando, scoring 17 of his 22 in the final 24 minutes and hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left. The Warriors trailed by nine with just over four minutes remaining.

"It's just kind of a rush that every player loves to experience," Curry said. "Especially at home when you're able to do that and get a huge win, you remember those moments."

Curry's performance was all the more important given that Golden State was not at its best. The Warriors, whose 37.9 3-point percentage ranks second in the league, were 8 of 27 from deep. They also let Orlando go 39 for 87 from the field (44.8 percent) - a reasonable number for most teams but the worst allowed by the NBA's leader in field-goal defense in 10 games.

Davis has done it all for the Pelicans (8-8), averaging 24.9 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 2.3 steals, and his 55.6 field-goal percentage is the best of his career. He is threatening to become the first player to average at least 20.0, 10.0, 3.0 and 2.0 since San Antonio's David Robinson in 1991-92.

New Orleans is looking for its first consecutive wins in nearly three weeks, however, ending a season-high three-game skid with Tuesday's 112-104 home win over Oklahoma City.

Davis had 25 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and four blocks while Tyreke Evans bounced back in strong fashion, scoring 15 of his season-high 30 points in the final quarter. Evans was held to a season-low four points on 2-of-15 shooting in a loss at Washington four days earlier.

"We did a great job of being disciplined on our game plan, knowing what guys were going to do and we just stayed with it for four quarters," Davis said.

The third-year pro has 55 points on 19-of-33 shooting in his last two games after going 9 for 26 in the previous two contests.

Davis scored 31 points with 17 rebounds in a 97-87 home loss to Golden State on Jan. 18, the Warriors' seventh straight victory against the Pelicans. Neither team had won more than three straight in the series prior to Golden State's current run.

Draymond Green returned in Tuesday's game with his right thumb and wrist taped after tumbling into a row of photographers, but he's listed as questionable. He is tied for third on Golden State with 12.4 points per game and is the team's second-leading rebounder with 7.2 per contest.