In games where it hits the century mark, Golden State is undefeated with a 14-0 record.
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“That’s why you grow up playing this game is because of the type of joy from what just happened out there”, Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton said. It’s a daring assertion, of course, but those are the odds, even for a team that seems to shatter all decent sense of expectations. They led by no more than six points over the first three quarters, and took a mere four-point lead into the fourth. Does that feel like a safe lead? Klay Thompson was the big scorer in that game for Golden State with 30.
Right now, there is not a better team in basketball than the Warriors. The 20-point comeback to beat New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs last April?
The Thunder rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Dion Waiters’ potential tying shot rattled out at the buzzer.
This dissection of the Clippers was slower and more precise.
Until, that is, Golden State’s first team stepped in to conquer that of the opposing Chicago Bulls, a 106-94 crusher that left fans in Oracle Arena overjoyed and giddy. It was going to be a close game, I felt that before the game, and it turned out to be that. But a 23-point deficit wasn’t enough to give the Warriors their first loss, as 40 points from reigning MVP Stephen Curry gave the Warriors a 124-117 victory. I mean, who does that?
Should Golden State win their next two games, at home to the Chicago Bulls on Friday and against the Nuggets in Denver on Sunday, they would match the 15-0 season starts made by the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets. After the teams traded misses, Curry scored on a driving layup for a five-point lead.
“At this point, you do”, forward Draymond Green said. Scoring 111.7 points per every 100 possessions, Golden State is easily the best offensive team in the league.
Two critical buckets in the fourth quarter started irrevocably swinging the game in the Warriors’ favor. But once again, the Warriors were just too much thanks to a simply devastating small-ball lineup combination that looks to be pretty much unstoppable.
Jamal Crawford followed with 15 points while Austin Rivers had 10 points off the bench. Kirk Hinrich added 17 points, while Pau Gasol (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Nikola Mirotic (18 points and 10 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles.
As Paul racked up All-Star Game appearances and notoriety, Curry’s Warriors slowly evolved into the Clippers’ main rivals. Warriors GM Bob Myers was Hoiberg’s agent during the former guard’s playing days.
A couple dates to watch for a Sixers win would be December 1st against the Los Angeles Lakers (27th in our NBA Team Power Rankings with a Team nERD of 26.1) and December 10th against the Brooklyn Nets (26th in our rankings with a nERD of 26.1).
Again, the Warriors will lose eventually, and they may even lose ugly at some point this season.
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The Bulls have been more up-and-down than any franchise in the Association through the first few weeks of the season and they still remain on the top tier of teams in the Eastern Conference at 8-3.
