SAN FRANCISCO—Stephen Curry scored 24 points as the Golden State Warriors set a new record for the longest unbeaten start to an NBA season with a 111-77 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers here Tuesday.
Reigning MVP Curry turned on the style as the Warriors extended their perfect start to 16 games, surpassing the previous best of 15-0 they had shared with the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and 1948-49 Washington Capitols.
A sell-out crowd at the Oracle Arena had come to see the NBA champions make history and the outcome never looked in doubt from the outset against a Lakers side who slumped to 2-12 with the loss.
“To start the season 16-0 and do something that’s never been done before in NBA history, it’s pretty cool,” Curry said. “We want to keep it going.”
“There’s a lot of season left but we’re on the right track. It’s special. There’s a lot of great players in this league and a lot of great teams — nobody’s accomplished what this team has tonight.
“We’re proud of this moment. We’ll celebrate a little bit and then look ahead to Friday night.”
At times the game resembled a training exercise for the Warriors as they sprinted into a 30-11 first quarter lead against their outclassed opponents, effectively scoring at will.
Draymond Green scored 12 points in the opening quarter, with Curry and Harrison Barnes chipping in with eight points each. Green eventually finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.
The healthy cushion built over the first period never looked like being overhauled by the Lakers, who trailed by 16 points at the half, 54-38.
It got worse for the Lakers after the interval as the Warriors cut loose, outscoring their opponents by 35-17 to extend their lead to 89-55 heading into the final quarter.
By midway through the final quarter the Warriors led by more than 40 points with the Lakers barely managing token resistance.
It was a miserable night for veteran Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who was restricted to four points with one-for-14 shooting. It was the Lakers icon’s lowest score of the season having reached double digits in each of his previous 10 appearances.
– Way to go –
The Lakers might be enduring a miserable season so far, but the Warriors still have a way to go before they can think about overhauling the Los Angeles team’s record for the longest winning streak in NBA history, which stands at a remarkable 33 wins set in the 1971-72 season.
The Warriors record-breaking start is not even good enough to place them in the top three unbeaten runs in history, with the Miami Heat (27) and Houston Rockets (22) leading the field.
– Season record –
With the winning start in the bag, the Warriors may now be tempted to look at the Chicago Bulls all-time season record as a possibility.
The 1995-1996 Bulls featuring Michael Jordan went 72-10 for the season that year, making them the only team to crack 70 victories in a season.
Golden State would need to find five more victories than they did last year — 67-15 — to equal the Bulls record.
– Mastermind in absentia –
The Warriors winning streak is all the more remarkable considering it has been achieved without the presence of head coach Steve Kerr, who is recovering from two back surgeries.
Understudy Luke Walton is adamant though that Kerr is the architect of the winning run.
“All we’re doing is following his leadership,” Walton said. “I’m just glad to not be letting my boss Steve down.”