Curry finished with 40 points as the Warriors hit eight of nine three-pointers in the final frame to take the lead before closing out the win with a few solid foul shooting.
Advertisement
The victory allowed the Warriors to equal the all-time record for consecutive wins at the start of a season for a reigning champion, matching the feat of the 1957-58 Boston Celtics.
Guided by a strong fourth quarter from Dwayne Wade and Justise Winslow, the Heat overcame a 17-point deficit to deny the 76ers their first win of the season. It only played 102 minutes in 37 games in the regular season a year ago. But Chicago simply didn’t have enough to back Jimmy Butler’s superlative 28-point performance.
It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature or, these days, with the Warriors, 81-15 over two seasons, trying to make it an NBA-record 15-0 start tonight in Denver. The Warriors were not at their best, even as Steph Curry missed a few gimme shots, and other balls weren’t going in.
The Over/Under (O/U) for this game is set at 214 points and the Nuggets are a heavy 10-point underdog.
Kevin Love posted 25 points and LeBron James added 19 in a re-match of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. They threatened to break the game open a couple of times. The Bulls, with no Derrick Rose, fought admirably all game and were right there in the fourth quarter. Not only are they a pesky team that plays the Warriors hard in each matchup, but Denver is a notoriously tough place to play.
The Bulls, meanwhile, received scoring from only four players in the first half_and zero from their bench_but managed to stay within three at intermission, 50-47.
Steve Kerr and his assistants were huddled in their own locker room minutes before show time, mapping last-minute strategy.
“A very, very cruel loss”, 76ers coach Brett Brown said.
Clearly, the Warriors are avoiding the championship hangover by rejecting complacency, whether it be an individual or team goal. It felt right having him with us on that trip, even though it was just a one-day trip.
“It’s two things. It’s people wanting to be the first team to give us a loss and they’re coming out and playing like it’s a playoff game”. The defending champions have upped their impressive net rating from last a year a full 3.4 points per 100 possessions, and much of the credit can be given to Stephen Curry for this continued transformation. “We’re trying to get where they are”.
With a lineup that dominant – hypothetically, if the Warriors were to play a game with only that lineup, the numbers say they’d win 157-90 – you do have to wonder why Walton keeps it as a last resort. “It’s something I’ll do more of, but it’s definitely part of our game plan”. As with any team, they would love to be the opponent responsible for bringing the Warriors back down to earth, so expect them not to lay down in the face of adversity. The trophy is named after Larry O’Brien, a former National Basketball Association commissioner.
The Warriors coaching staff is adamant: their offensive success is predicated by defensive intensity. Van Gundy said during the Warriors-Bulls telecast that the rule needs to be changed. “But it’s kind of silly”. This evening the Mavs are playing host to the Utah Jazz, who have won two straight. The tandem combined to shoot 18 of 29 while hitting three three-pointers between them.
Advertisement
One Hornets player who understands the Sixers’ winless plight is point guard Kemba Walker. Westbrook has the best chance of any point guard in the league at handling Curry, just because of the intimidation factor.
