Warriors, Stephen Curry invent fresh milestones in latest blowout
The Golden State Warriors made NBA history last Tuesday with their 45th win in a row at Oracle Arena, breaking a 20-year-old Chicago Bulls record for the longest home streak in NBA history. Most teams would consider that enough of an accomplishment to ease up in their next few contests, but the Warriors are obviously not a typical group. Four more wins at Oracle (and five overall) sent them into Wednesday’s visit from the New York Knicks with 49 straight at home and as big favorites to make it 50.
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It did not come as a surprise when Golden State reached that milestone with relative ease. The Warriors took a 5-4 lead on a Stephen Curry three-pointer a little more than four minutes into the game and never trailed again, eventually winning 121-85 to improve to a startling 61-6. An entire fourth quarter ensured that only Harrison Barnes played more than 30 minutes, and James Michael McAdoo was the lone member of the 12-man active squad to hit the court for fewer than 10.
Naturally, the relatively short night of work did not keep Stephen Curry from putting up gaudy numbers in stylish fashion. The presumptive MVP scored 34 points on 8-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc, raising his record single-season total to 330 threes. It’s no certainty that Curry will play all of the Warriors’ 15 remaining games, but he has an honest chance to reach 400 three-pointers for the season.
Is anyone going to bet against him? While it’s hard to imagine anyone getting 400 three-pointers when no one had previously hit 300, Curry and the Warriors are in the habit of flirting with milestones that once seemed delusional. The precedent of this season suggests no goal — 60 wins in a row at home, 400 3s, you name it — is too out there.
In more familiar territory, the team showed excellent scoring balance with Klay Thompson adding 19 and seven others scoring anywhere from six to 13 points. The Warriors shot 50.5 percent from the field and 18-of-37 on threes for their 26th game of at least 120 points this season.
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That high offensive standard arguably made the defensive effort arguably more impressive. The Knicks’ 85 points are the fewest allowed by the Warriors since a slow-paced win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas.
Then again, the Knicks haven’t been world-beaters of late, so maybe they deserve some of the credit for their paltry total. Carmelo Anthony was the only starter who can be said to have been OK with 18 points on 13 attempts, but he didn’t seem to make much comfort in his line:
The Knicks clearly need some help. As our Dan Devine wrote this week, though, the rumored alternatives don’t look so great.
The Warriors’ future challenges look just a tad more manageable, although this weekend does present two key tests. Saturday’s trip to San Antonio is one of the biggest games of the season, a chance for the Spurs to show that a blowout loss in their first meeting was an aberration. Yet the Warriors should be motivated to assert their dominance and end two lengthy runs — a winless stretch in San Antonio that goes back to 1997 and the Spurs’ own home streak of 43 in a row (if the Blazers don’t stop it at 42 on Thursday). Plus, Friday’s game at the Dallas Mavericks is a problem in its own right, especially as a pre-San Antonio trap.
The good news for Golden State is that a fairly disappointing road trip would still end with more appearances at Oracle. Although they face several roadblocks in the pursuit of 73 wins, the Warriors seem to have forgotten what it’s like to lose at home. Forty-five wins in a row was amazing. Fifty is even better. And it’s a safe bet that their eventual record won’t be challenged again for quite some time.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
