OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- It's barely taken a month for Baron Davis

to earn the ultimate star treatment from fans desperate for a

decade to bring good basketball back to Oakland.

They're dangling off the railings to try to reach him, and

already have anointed him their MVP.

Davis scored 17 of his career-high 40 points in the third

quarter and passed for 13 assists, and the Golden State Warriors

won their season-best sixth straight game, 122-117 over the Houston

Rockets on Tuesday night.

"He in a way continues to amaze," Warriors coach Mike

Montgomery said of his All-Star point guard. "He just exudes

confidence and the team picks up on it. He pretty much thinks he

can do anything and he's backing it up."

Jason Richardson added 20 points, including seven straight

during one third-quarter spurt, and five rebounds as the Warriors

scored a season high in points to earn another impressive win over

a playoff-bound team.

They beat the Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday and have won nine of

10, including victories over Sacramento and Phoenix. Troy Murphy

and Derek Fisher added 15 points each for the Warriors.

This matches the Warriors' best 10-game stretch since April

1994, the last year this franchise reached the playoffs.

"I don't think we're a surprise anymore," Davis said.

"Before, people thought, well, maybe it was a fluke or that

they're just hot right now. I think people are really starting to

recognize our talent and our weapons. Night in and night out we're

going to be in ballgames. We've got eight guys who are capable of

scoring 20 points."

Tracy McGrady had 44 points and seven assists for the struggling

Rockets, who have lost three straight and four of six. They need to

figure things out in a hurry with only seven games remaining in the

regular season to protect their sixth-place spot in the Western

Conference standings.

Yao Ming added 23 points and 11 rebounds in his second game

since missing last Friday's loss with a sore right calf, and Bobby

Sura had 15 points and six assists for Houston.

"I was just surprised we brought so little defensively,"

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I'm not really concerned with

anybody else. I'm concerned with playing better and playing

harder."

The Warriors certainly wish they'd had Davis all season and not

just since the trading deadline, because they're playing a lot like

a team headed to the postseason. In reality, Golden State will miss

the playoffs for the 11th straight season, the longest current

drought in the league.

With the energetic Davis running the point, the Warriors are

going hard to the basket with every opportunity and doing a better

job moving the ball. When Houston hit big shots in the fourth

quarter to try to rally, Golden State matched the Rockets on the

other end.

And Davis has the Oakland Arena rocking once again. Some fans

chanted "M-V-P!" when he hit two free throws with 4:42 left, then

gave him a standing ovation when he headed to the bench in the

waning seconds.

Davis' big night marked the first 30-point, 10-assist game by a

Warriors player since Jimmy Jackson had 33 points and 11 assists

April 2, 1998, at Houston.

Sura was whistled for a technical by official Bill Kennedy with

19.2 seconds before halftime when he made contact with Warriors

coach Mike Montgomery while trying to go to the bench. Sura, who

spent three seasons with Golden State from 2000-03, got booed every

time he touched the ball in the second half.

"Montgomery and I made some inadvertent contact when I was

walking off the court," Sura said. "His arm brushed me on the

face by accident. I kind of pushed it out of the way."

The officials wouldn't comment afterward, saying it was not a

rules interpretation but a judgment call.

The Warriors lost the first two meetings with Houston this

season and had dropped 21 of 24 to the Rockets at home.

Davis scored 10 of his points and had five assists as the

Warriors shot 50 percent in the first quarter to take control.

Golden State led by as many as 12 in the second quarter, but

McGrady scored 11 points in the period and Houston used a 20-8 run

late to pull within 53-50 at halftime.Game notes
McGrady's points were the most allowed by the Warriors this

season, surpassing 38 by Sacramento's Brad Miller on Feb. 2. ...

Davis' 17 third-quarter points equaled the most by a Warriors

player in a period this season. ... The Warriors are 13-7 since

acquiring Davis from New Orleans on Feb. 24. ... Rockets G Jon

Barry didn't make the trip because of back spasms. But his father,

former Warriors star Rick Barry, showed up anyway, not knowing his

son wouldn't be there. ... Golden State rookie Andris Biedrins

played three minutes in the first quarter and had three fouls.