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Warriors finally break silence, take aim at season-opening streak

Stephen Curry finished with 27 points.

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The record is 15 by two teams (most recently the 1993-1994 Rockets), and if the Warriors can defeat the Bulls at home tonight, the only teams standing between Golden State and history are Denver (Sunday) and the Lakers (Tuesday). Six of their first seven three-point shots were good.

The Heat improve to 7-4, while the Kings are 4-9 overall and now 0-4 on the road.

“We wanted to protect our home court”, Curry said. “They’re the better team”. But Curry came back with a nice under-the-rim drive and rolled the ball across his fingertips and through the net for two, the score 94-89 with barely more than three minutes left.

The Clippers had listed Paul as doubtful all the way up until about two hours before the game after limiting his participation in practice the previous few days.

“We battled them the whole game”, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said.

Thompson had 25 points and Harrison Barnes 21 for the Warriors, who outscored the Clippers, 39-26, in the fourth quarter.

Guard Jimmy Butler had a game-high 28 points to go with nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Bulls (8-4), who had opened a four-game trip with a 103-97 win at Phoenix on Wednesday night.

The Warriors’ 14th straight win under Walton would have broken the record for the best start for a rookie head coach, but the wins instead officially go to Steve Kerr’s record while he remains on a leave of absence.

“At this point, you do”, forward Draymond Green said.

The Warriors are the best team in the National Basketball Association and it’s not particularly close either. They were already playing short-handed in the backcourt as Shaun Livingston missed a second straight game because of a strained hip flexor and Leandro Barbosa had a virus. But by the end of the first quarter, the Warriors had trimmed the deficit to one.

The resilient Warriors chipped away and drew to within 91-85 heading into the final frame on Green’s period-ending three-pointer. The Clippers played the game without starting shooting guard J.J. Redick, who was out while recovering from back spasms, but they had little trouble generating offense.

Clippers: Paul is the only player to have 18-plus points and four-plus assists in a quarter this season…. A jumper by Mirotic gave the Bulls a 42-40 lead, but the Warriors took the advantage into halftime. Rivers became angry after Andrew Bogut fouled Paul hard while stopping a fast break.

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The Warriors are looking to remain undefeated in the season and preserve their 25-home game winning streak in the regular season that started after their January loss to the Bulls.

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