Stephen Curry Kevin Durant Warriors
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates on the bench against the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, Jan. 15, 2019. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The Golden State Warriors (30-14) are back at the top of the Western Conference standings. The defending champions moved past the Denver Nuggets (29-14) for the No.1 seed, and it could be the start of a lengthy hot streak for the NBA favorites.

Golden State defeated Denver 142-111 Tuesday night, setting a record with 51 points in the first quarter. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both scored 31 points as the team extended its winning streak to five games.

After hitting a few bumps in the road to start the 2018-2019 season amid injuries and some drama surrounding the team, Golden State is finally looking like the best team in the league. They’ve won seven of their last eight contests, defeating four teams by more than 20 points during that stretch.

Curry is healthy and having an MVP-caliber season. He’s averaging 29.5 points on 49.1 percent shooting from the field and 45.6 percent shooting from three-point range with an average of 11.6 attempts from behind the arc. Kevin Durant’s 28.2 points per game are his highest scoring average in three seasons with the Warriors.

DeMarcus Cousins is scheduled to make his season debut Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers (24-19). The Warriors are set to host the New Orleans Pelicans (21-23) Wednesday night.

If the Warriors can pull away from the Nuggets, they might not have much competition for the No.1 seed. They are 3.5 games ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder (26-17). The Houston Rockets (25-18) trail Golden State by 4.5 games, and they are unlikely to make a push for the best record with both Clint Capela and Chris Paul injured.

LeBron James has probably missed too many games for the Los Angeles Lakers (24-21) to have a shot at one of the top seeds. L.A. just has to concern themselves with making the postseason.

The Lakers have gone 4-7 without James, and the superstar will miss at least a few more games as he recovers from a groin injury. Los Angeles has the same record as the No.9 seed Utah Jazz (24-21) and the same amount of losses as the No.10 seed Sacramento Kings (23-21).

L.A. will face Oklahoma City, Houston and Golden State in their next three games.