Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball against the Phoenix Suns at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 27, 2019.
With four consecutive wins, Golden State coach Steve Kerr joked that there really was no stopping the Warriors.
''You can only hope to contain us right now,'' Kerr said with a grin.
That's how well things are going these days for the worst team in the Western Conference. Small winning streaks, which used to be taken for granted while Golden State was winning three NBA titles in five years, are now a rarity worth chuckling over.
D'Angelo Russell had 31 points and six assists, and the Warriors rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 106-95 on Friday night.
Damion Lee added 16 points, Alec Burks scored nine of his 13 in the fourth quarter, and Draymond Green had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 27, 2019.
Two days after beating Houston on Christmas, the Warriors trailed for most of the second half against Phoenix and were down 86-76 with 7 and a half minutes remaining.
Russell started the comeback with a pair of free throws and Burks followed with a three-point play. Burks later had an assist on Willie Cauley-Stein's alley-hoop dunk.
Phoenix led 89-87 before Golden State went on an 8-0 run. Glenn Robinson III's putback dunk following a miss by Russell put the Warriors ahead for good 91-89.
Russell shot 10 of 25 while topping 30 points for the sixth time this season.
''We're getting better as a team,'' Green said. ''A month ago we would have lost this game by 40 with the way we were playing in the first half. We were able to stick around. When you stick around the way we did, eventually shots will fall.''
Devin Booker scored 34 points for Phoenix. The Suns committed 27 turnovers and have lost eight straight.
''We put ourselves in situations where we weren't playing good,'' Phoenix coach Monty Williams said. ''I thought we would play with more energy and an edge. We just have to be more solid.''
Chris Paul #3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball during a game against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, December 27, 2019.
Paul provides late boost, Thunder beat Hornets 104-102 in over time
After 15 seasons in the NBA, Chris Paul said there is nothing that beats playing in the fourth quarter.
After making some clutch plays in this on Friday, he had enough left to come up big in overtime.
Paul had 10 of his 16 points after the third quarter as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Charlotte Hornets 104-102 for their fifth win in the last six games.
Paul didn't put up big numbers in his nearly 35 minutes of action, finishing just 6 of 20 from the field. But he contributed seven rebounds, six assists and gave the Thunder the floor general and playmaker they needed down the stretch after his team let a 16-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter.
''He was great,'' said Thunder coach Billy Donovan. ''He made obviously some big shots and some big plays. He made some key shots coming down the stretch.''
Paul, a North Carolina native who was playing in front of his father, brother and grandparents who were sitting courtside, hit two jumpers in the final 1:06 of regulation. Then he knocked down a pull-up jumper in overtime to give the Thunder a five-point lead. He also had three rebounds in the extra period.
Chris Paul #3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives towards the basket during a game against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, December 27, 2019.
Hornets coach James Borrego said, ''Chris Paul is a handful - he's still a handful.''
Terry Rozier scored 26 points and Devonte Graham had 15 points and 13 assists for the Hornets, who finished 7 of 39 from 3-point range after missing their first 18 attempts from beyond the arc.
Steven Adams tipped in a miss by Paul to give the Thunder a 103-99 lead in the extra period, but Graham answered with a quick 3 from the top of the key. The Hornets fouled Gilgeous-Alexander, who made one of two free throws with 8.4 seconds left, giving Charlotte a chance to win or send the game into a second overtime.
But Charlotte's inbounds play went awry as Graham slipped trying to get the ball.
P.J. Washington improvised and drove to the basket and was fouled with 1.9 seconds left. But Washington missed the first free throw badly to the right and was forced to try to miss the second. Washington's second shot hit the front rim, but the Hornets were unable to corral the rebound and get a shot off as time expired.
''I think we came out really sluggish,'' Washington said. ''Missing shots, missing assignments on defense, just watching ball, watching the offense. We could have done a better job of that coming in, so we just have to get better from the start of the games and just have to maintain that for the whole game.''