Up next: Golden State will meet the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. To them, it must feel like they already have.
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Golden State moved within one of sole possession of the all-time record for victories to open a season for a reigning champion, using two late 3-pointers by small forward Harrison Barnes to secure a hard-fought, 106-94 triumph over the Chicago Bulls for its 14th consecutive win.
The Washington Capitols in 1948-49 and Houston Rockets in ’93-94 are the other teams to start 15-0. The Bulls played physical defense all night, and Golden State shot just 10-of-29 from three, with Stephen Curry going only 3-of-11. Warriors backup Festus Ezeli went into Thursday’s game averaging 8.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.5 steals and 1.7 blocked shots.
Golden State Warriors are unstoppable and ready to repeat what they unexpectedly did past year: wear the National Basketball Association ring. Curry has taken his game to a level that even the most optimistic Warrior fan could not have fathomed.
Chicago’s January 27, 2015 win marked the last time a visiting team won a regular-season game in Oakland.
Cody Zeller’s lay-up with 0.6 seconds left lifted the Charlotte Hornets to a 95-93 win over the NY Knicks, while Nick Vucevic’s shot on the buzzer gave the Orlando Magic a 101-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, who were without Kobe Bryant for a second straight game. The final score conveys an easy 12-point victory, but this game was close throughout. But Kerr did go to it a lot more frequently in the playoffs, when it logged 111 minutes over 16 of the Warriors’ 21 postseason games. They were down by 23 at one point.
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. That set the stage for Barnes’ heroics at the finish.
The Warriors and Bulls are tied at 63 midway through the third quarter at Oracle tonight. His second three in the quarter closed the gap with the Clippers to just one. The Bulls don’t play again until Tuesday at Portland. “He had a phenomenal message to the guys”, Walton said. “But it was great having him”. We were thrilled with our intensity early in the season – as far as the way we were starting games.
“Andre has been awesome”, Walton said.
“I’ve just got to be more aggressive”, Noah said. It was thought Hoiberg might be in the picture to coach the Warriors after they fired Mark Jackson after the 2013-14 season. “We had a very brief discussion (about the coaching job), but it really didn’t get anywhere”. Van Gundy said during the Warriors-Bulls telecast that the rule needs to be changed.
“It’s a no-brainer”, he said.
When a machine is operating at optimum performance level, even the creator knows to stand back and let it thrive. “But it’s kind of silly”.
Look at how efficient Jimmy Butler was inside of the arc on the right side of the floor last season. “So I’ll ask Coach for that matchup”.
“I hold myself to a high standard and my team mates hold me to that standard”, Curry told reporters after leading the rally from a 23-point deficit to overcome the Clippers. “They’re not living on previous year”, – Walton deserves a few credit for not letting them loaf.
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After a pair of free throws from power forward Zach Randolph (19 points, seven rebounds) with 3:37 left in the third quarter, the Grizzlies trailed 57-56.
