Philadelphia @ Golden State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 18, 2017 ) Golden State 124, Philadelphia 116

The Golden State Warriors are winners of 11 in a row and have seamlessly integrated center DeMarcus Cousins into the team's offense, giving opponents another headache to game plan around. The Warriors will try to push it to 12 straight against another team experimenting with some different lineups when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

Golden State swept a five-game road trip, capped by a 132-100 trashing of Indiana on Monday, and is trying to find its top gear as it prepares for the stretch run after the All-Star break. "Unbelievable trip," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters. "Just a really good way to finish it, too, with everybody playing, everybody contributing, leading from start to finish. I was a little worried about this game. Everybody's anxious to get home. But we finished off the trip the right way, and it was great to see. ... We're in a good groove. We're in a good place, but we got to keep going." The 76ers are winners of three of their last four games and are experimenting with Jimmy Butler running the point and Ben Simmons moving into the frontcourt. "I liked what I saw," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters of having Butler run the offense for stretches of Tuesday's 121-105 win at the Los Angeles Lakers. "We didn't really run complicated offense. It was quite simple and spaced, and I thought he did a really good job with that."

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE 76ERS (33-18): Butler collected 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, six assists and five rebounds in 29 minutes on Tuesday and was a fan of the new offensive look. "It's a different look," Butler told reporters. "We've got so many guys who do so many things well. I think Ben gets to post up a little more, cut to the basket a little bit more, play off the ball a little bit more. I think when somebody else has the ball, it makes everybody else's job easier." Simmons finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists while logging a team-high 37 minutes.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (36-14): Cousins made his season and team debut at the beginning of the trip and averaged 15.2 points in the five games, capped by 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting against the Pacers. "Every game, he's looking a little bit more athletic, more confident," All-Star guard Stephen Curry told reporters of Cousins. "Got a little bit more of a rhythm. Understanding where he's going to get his touches. Just the way he runs in transition defensively, the effort he's bringing on that end of the floor, as well." Curry is in his own groove and needed only 13 shots to score 26 points while going 6-of-8 from 3-point range on Monday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Warriors PF Draymond Green (rest) sat out Monday's win but is expected back on Thursday.

2. 76ers C Joel Embiid posted a double-double in each of his last three games, bringing his season total to 41.

3. Golden State took the last 10 meetings.

PREDICTION: Warriors 131, 76ers 122