A long sigh followed by Nate McMillan pinching the bridge of his nose and bowing his head was the routine at Sonics practice yesterday. On the court, his players were giddy, acting like the team that had won three of its past four games, including victories over the league-leading Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings.

McMillan knows what wins over Milwaukee, Minnesota, L.A. and Sacramento can do to this youthful bunch. Those teams have a combined record of 67-26 and give confidence to a struggling team if defeated.

Make that overconfidence when you're talking about the Sonics.

During this bizarre season, a victory over the Lakers translated to a miserable loss against the Clippers.

So, defeating the Kings 104-92 Wednesday equals great shame against Golden State today, right?

Not if McMillan can help it.

"He brought it up," guard Brent Barry said. "He wanted us to stay focused and understand what Golden State is trying to do. For some reason, we always have close games with Golden State, and we want to go down there and get off to a good start and get a good win."

The Warriors (10-16) are 2-1 since Coach Dave Cowens was fired for allegedly losing the respect of the players after 105 games with the organization. Under interim coach Brian Winters, the Warriors are playing with more moxie.

The situation is similar to last season in Seattle, when the Sonics replaced Paul Westphal with McMillan after a 6-9 start. The shift energized Seattle to back-to-back wins over the Portland Trail Blazers and the Lakers.

"Now the fans, the media, whoever can't criticize the coach anymore," McMillan said. "Now, the focus and attention is all on the team, and they start doing all the things they weren't doing before. They want to show the organization made the right decision.

"Right now, Golden State is a dangerous team with a new coach."

Already a strong defensive-rebounding team, the Warriors defeated the Detroit Pistons 101-88 on Wednesday, outrebounding Detroit 46-35. Forward Danny Fortson is one of the team's best defenders and has recorded 10 or more rebounds in 21 of the team's 26 games.

The Sonics outrebounded the Kings 47-33 but are among the league's worst defensive rebounders. Seattle could get some help today from rookie Vladimir Radmanovic, who is expected to return from a sprained right ankle, but McMillan is looking to his guards for boards.

The Sonics beat the Warriors 100-91 at KeyArena in November behind Gary Payton's 30 points and Rashard Lewis' double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds).

Payton and Barry have ties to Oakland, which always adds a little extra intensity to the game and may explain why the Sonics defeated the lowly franchise by two and five points at Golden State last season.

"We want to work on trying to be consistent," McMillan said. "We talked to the players about getting their mind and body ready for this game and concentrating on what's in front of us. So, they need to do whatever they do to get themselves ready."