Take that, Charles Barkley.
The Golden State Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets 118-105 at the Pepsi Center on Sunday. The altitude, the pressure of their streak, and competing on the road for three games in four days did little to cramp the Warriors. Klay Thompson went 4-for-7 from the three-point arc and scored 21, and Stephen Curry placed 19 points on the board, as the undefeated Warriors put forth a team effort sans sensational stat lines. The outside game continues to pay dividends despite what one 300-pound-plus NBA insider says.
The 1985-86 Celtics? 1995-96 Bulls? 1982-83 76ers? None of them did what Golden State does.
The win makes it fifteen straight to start the 2015-2016 season. The mark ties them with the 1948-49 Red Auerbach-coached Washington Capitols and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets for the best winning streak to start a season. One more victory gives the Warriors the best start in NBA history.
And they go for history at home, where they play at an almost unbeatable level. In addition to their 9-o record to launch this campaign, the Warriors went 39-2 at Oakland’s old Oracle Arena last season. The difficult feat that didn’t come easy becomes easy tomorrow night when the Warriors take on the worst-in-the-West Lakers. The 2-11 team presents about an easy an out as the NBA puts on a court.
The defending champs seem determined to prove themselves no fluke. Despite the Warriors’ winning streak, doubters remain.
“We would have just mauled them,” Charles Barkley of TBS recently opined. “You’re not going to just let guys come off those picks.”
As old pros debate they would have done in the old days, the Golden State Warriors right now beat all comers.