The season did not begin well for either the Golden State Warriors or the Sacramento Kings. With each team coming off a convincing win over a Western Conference power, however, things are looking up for both clubs.

The Warriors go for their seventh win in eight games when they meet the Kings at Arco Arena on Wednesday in a matchup between Pacific Division rivals each coming off arguably its best game of the young season.

Golden State dropped its first six games for its longest losing streak to start a season since opening 0-9 in 1997-98. The Warriors were the last winless team in the NBA when they finally snapped their skid by beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 16.

That was the first of six victories in a stretch of seven games for Golden State (6-7), which won its third straight by beating Phoenix 129-114 on Monday. The Suns, who had the second-best record in the NBA last season, had won their previous eight games.

"That was a quality win - our best game of the year, (or) it was close," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "I thought it was a good game, and a fun game to coach."

The Kings (5-9), who opened the season with three straight losses, snapped their second three-game skid of the season with a 112-99 victory over San Antonio on Monday. The defending NBA champion Spurs had won five in a row before falling at Arco Arena.

"That could have been our best 48 minutes of the season so far," Kings coach Reggie Theus said.

Point guard Beno Udrih sparked Sacramento's offense with a career-high 27 points and five assists against his former team. Udrih played with the Spurs for three seasons before they traded him in October.

"Before the game, I told Beno he has to let the game come to him. Let the game come to him. It's not personal," Theus said. "I would imagine for him, under the circumstances, it's pretty sweet."

Udrih has been delivering consistently solid numbers since Theus inserted him into the starting lineup. In six starts, Udrih is averaging 16.0 points, 5.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 49.3 percent from the floor.

The Warriors have gotten their own backcourt boost from Monta Ellis, winner of the league's Most Improved Player award last season. Ellis matched his career high with 31 points for the second consecutive game in Monday's win over Phoenix, and is averaging 23.5 points in his last four contests.

He averaged 8.8 points in his previous four games.

"My shot was going, so I just kept shooting it," said Ellis, who was 14-for-23 from the field Monday. "It was a great win to get back to ourselves. If we start doing the things we were doing at the end of last year, we'll win a lot of games no matter who we're playing. We came out, starting quickly, and finished it off."

This will be the first of four meetings this season between the division rivals. The Kings' only win in last season's series came in Sacramento, and all four games were decided by at least 12 points.