Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson takes a shot under pressure from the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George.
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With the victory, Golden State extended its winning streak to start an National Basketball Association season to 23 games (the previous record was 15) and has now won 27 straight regular-season games, tying the 2012-2013 Miami Heat for the second-longest win streak in league history. The Los Angeles Lakers won 33 consecutive regular-season games in 1971/2.
Thompson sank eight of his three-pointers by half-time, a statistic which left team-mate Curry in a state of awe. Through three periods, Thompson and Curry had 62 combined points, Curry finished with 29 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. “Going in I felt great”, Thompson said. Golden State tied the all-time opponent record with 44 points in the first quarter and was one shy of the first-half mark with 79. “And, I mean, I think it [limiting it to single-season records] clarifies things a little bit”.
Thompson rolled his ankle late in the game and said he expected it to be bruised for the next couple of days. “I was taking my shots in rhythm”. It’s a great feeling. I will be alright, although I will be sore. “We’re not far off. We’ve got guys that can put the ball in the hole, but we just collectively have to have that confidence”. Dion Waiters finished with 12 points.
The Pacers went cold with 0-of-9 shooting, 0-for-3 from beyond the arc and were just shellshocked for the remainder of the first half.
Last season’s NBA Finals seemed to prove that Curry was the best player on the best team in the league, but that LeBron’s heroics were the only reason the Warriors-Cavaliers series even went six games.
The record would be a fun one to see broken of course, so let’s look at Golden State’s next six games shall we? “We’ve got to look at it as just another game, another chance to get another win and carry ourselves like that, because if we get over there and try to get too excited, they’re just going to blow us out”.
“Ours has more player movement”, Curry said.
Vogel said, “This team can teach you a lot of lessons”.
The Warriors caught on, the team quit hitting, and the Pacers had nothing to fall back on – enter the 20+ point run that GSW had in the first quarter. Miles added 24. George Hill and Chase Budinger each added 12, and Jordan Hill had 10 points.
What’s odd is that Curry’s new record of 273 and eventually 286 threes (which he, seriously, is on pace to top in game 55 of this season) from last April might turn out to be the second-most historic part of that victory. He appeared to be set to rest the entire fourth quarter. And, they would have done it in a more-impressive fashion.
“It’s OK to look at it now”, he said of the Warriors game, “but I thought they did a really good job of focusing on the task at hand, which was a tough task”.
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George had 18 first-half points for IN, which shot 42 percent during the opening two quarters (21 of 50).
