Golden State @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 27, 2017 ) Washington 117, Golden State 120

The Golden State Warriors insist there are no distractions associated with their once-per-season visit to the nation's capital as they face the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. The Warriors had no interest in making the customary White House visit that is tradition for NBA champions and instead spent their off-day on Tuesday hanging out with children at an African-American museum.

On the basketball front, the Warriors have won three consecutive games and six of seven but trail streaking Houston by one-half game in the battle for the top seed in the Western Conference. Golden State's offense is thriving with an average of 122.9 points over the last seven games, including Monday's 125-111 road victory over the New York Knicks. While the Warriors were enjoying the city sights, the Wizards were posting a 107-104 triumph in Milwaukee on Tuesday. Washington has won five of its last six contests and begins a four-game homestand with the matchup against Golden State, which will be followed by a visit from Eastern Conference-leading Toronto.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, NBCS Bay Area (Golden State), NBCS Washington

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (47-14): All-Star forward Kevin Durant recorded 31 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in a win over his hometown team earlier this season and has topped 20 points in eight of 10 games this month, including a 50-point performance against Portland on Feb. 14. All-Star point guard Stephen Curry also has registered eight 20-point performances in February, with his best effort coming on Thursday as he collected 44 points and 10 assists against the Los Angeles Clippers. Meanwhile, All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson produced his best showing of the month with 26 points against the Knicks after being just 1-for-11 from 3-point range and scoring only 11 in Saturday's win over Oklahoma City.

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (36-25): Washington let a 21-point lead slip away against Milwaukee and had to fight to the finish to notch the road victory. "They are the playoff team we played (Tuesday) and they didn't give up," shooting guard Bradley Beal told reporters. "We did a good job of staying poised. We've been in this situation before. We just trusted our defense and made sure we got stops and executed our offense." Beal made a late 3-pointer to help the Wizards hold on as he scored 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting for his third straight 20-point performance.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Warriors have won 12 of the last 14 meetings, including a 120-117 home victory on Oct. 27.

2. Washington PG Tomas Satoransky has recorded six or more assists in five of his last six games while starting in place of injured All-Star John Wall (knee).

3. Golden State backup PF David West is 29-for-41 from the field this month.

PREDICTION: Warriors 115, Wizards 112