Since they did manage to survive and keep their record ideal at 11-0, the Warriors may have received a timely wakeup call heading into a week when they can make history for the best start by a defending National Basketball Association champion.
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And the streaks remain intact. But as the Warriors have shown a number of times through their 11-game win streak since the season began, it takes a very bad day from them and a very special day from their opponents to bring them close to submission.
James missed a potential game-winner as time expired but he scored four of the Cavaliers’ seven points in the second overtime.
Curry scored 34 points to lead the Warriors, but they didn’t come easily.
Meanwhile, there is just no stopping the Warriors who extended their unbeaten start to the season to 10 games after blowing past the Timberwolves by 129-116 on Thursday.
Curry finally found his groove in the fourth quarter with the Warriors trailing 83-76. Stephen Curry is once again the front-runner to win the Most Valuable Player award, and his team is an unblemished 10-0.
If it’s not Andre Iguodala taking over the proceedings in subtle but highly effective ways, it’s Harrison Barnes flashing out of the shadows to drop eight points in the blink of an eye. Golden State then got to work dismantling the Nets in OT, to spoil Jarrett Jack’s actually quite good revenge game.
Not to mention a buzzer beater from former Warriors backup Jarrett Jack, which came off a blocked inbound pass that was supposed to travel across the halfcourt line. The lead Brooklyn had fought so hard to get had nearly vanished and their chances of pulling off the upset seemed low.
Even defensive dynamo Draymond Green had a rare lapse, with Brooklyn forward Thaddeus Young scoring 20 first-half points, many of those with Green guarding him.
Yet even though Curry’s shot wasn’t falling at its normal rate, he still came up big when the Warriors, surprisingly trailing the Nets for most of the game, needed him the most.
If all that isn’t enough, the Warriors can break their own franchise mark of 16 consecutive victories set previous year simply by winning the next two.
Golden State looked sluggish at both ends of the court, with Curry hitting just 2 of 9 shots in the opening quarter and the team as a whole making just 8 of 22 shots (36.4 percent).
Cavaliers: Jefferson was questionable before the game with a right ankle injury, but scored 14 points in 39 minutes. Golden State finished with a 10-2 advantage and went on to win by an 8-point margin.
Stephen Curry scored 34 points for Warriors.
As you figured, the Warriors went wild in the overtime period while the Nets grew stagnant. The reigning MVP has the rarest of rare abilities: he can change the complexion of a quarter, half, game, season, or playoff series. He’s tending to a family matter in his native Brazil.
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“Andre plays his best when you need him to”, interim head coach Luke Walton said.
