Warriors Win Streak Sets Stage For World Destruction Tour
The Golden State Warriors did not take the L on the way out of the Pepsi Center Tuesday night. Instead, they left with a couple of records broken - most points scored in the first quarter as well as 10 three-point field goals to open up the bout. I don’t know if this is a record or not - but 4 Klay dunks in a game should also count for something.
January games should not carry much magnitude for the Warriors, but the top seed in the West was on the line against Denver. The narrative of a “disappointing” season, chemistry issues, and Klay’s “slump,” can now be put to rest after a solid outing against a young, hungry Nuggets squad.
My gut feeling tells me that Steve Kerr told these guys, “We are going 100% tonight.” In the opening minutes of the game, it seemed like they could not miss. Klay hit three straight buckets from beyond the arc, KD started 8-8, and oh yeah...Steph connected on four threes. As a team, they shot 76%. But, the Nuggets kept pace. When Golden State could have pushed it to a 17 or 18 point lead, Denver had an answer - Jamal Murray having the best “we’re still in this” stamp to end the quarter with a half court heave that was good for 3 points.
Looking at it retrospectively, I get dizzy. The pace was incredibly fast, both teams were (for the most part) not missing. The big three showed Denver why they are superstars while Murray and Jokic solidified that they are all-star caliber hoopers. It seemed to be a much more competitive game with Murray’s last second desperation heave, but the away team forgot how to miss. Shaun made difficult mid range jumpers, Andre pulled up in Philly Dre mode, and in total (minutes into the second quarter) eight Warrior players were shooting above 50%. Sure the big three ultimately combined for 89, but unlike the media perpetually proposes, the bench contributed. It seemed like such a sweet victory, one where you could see the guys play with joy. Multiple players posted to social media after Jonas hit the buzzer beater against Utah, the team made the Fergie video after KD’s fourth quarter in the garden, and on this night - multiple Warriors took to Instagram proving that it was a big win for the squad.
It is rare to see these “shear regular season dominance Warriors” come out to play. Motivation at this point of the season has proven to be difficult to muster up especially since the Warriors have been at the top of the hill for the past five seasons. With the 1 seed on the line against Denver though, they wanted the top spot, and they also wanted to keep that momentum rolling with a win at home before a long road stint over the next couple weeks.
“Better, better, better,” were the words Stephen A. Smith uttered when describing Stephen Curry’s shooting ability. And the same phrase can be said after the game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Well, maybe not during the first half. For fans expecting a roll over shooting clinic by the Warriors, sincerest apologies. The first possession, turnover. Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton then hit some threes. Steph got in early foul trouble. All signs led to this being a classic trap game coming off of a big win and on the back end of a back-to-back. For much of last night’s game, the Warriors were outplayed by the Pelicans. The latter seemed to be doing their best Warriors impression from the previous night. Imagine dropping 71 on the defending champions at Oracle Arena, imagine being Anthony Davis - dropping 30 points and 18 rebounds, imagine having a double digit lead for most of the night only to give it away in the waning minutes of the third. Somehow, the Warriors ended up tying their franchise record for three-point field goals with 24. A large portion of that was thanks to Curry - seven threes...in the third quarter(yup, you read that correctly). He pulled up from Colorado Springs and Boulder the night prior, and at home, he pulled up from Napa County. In the last three games, Curry has had at least 8 made 3’s per game, averaged 40 points, and has led his team to wins. Curry’s recent barrage has definitely reinvigorated MVP talks for those who have slept on him since missing some games due to injury. Getting that top spot back from the Nuggets surely helped his case as well.
This six game win streak has been kind to everyone, even Draymond Green’s shooting percentage. Although struggling all season from beyond the arc, Green pitched in four from beyond the arc against the Pelicans. It may be quick to say that Treymond is back - but it was sure nice to see the Draymond’s stank face after finding his shot. He’s committing less turnovers, churning out more assists, and of course devastating teams in the +/- category, even logging a +41 in the Denver game.
At a closer glance - these two games that marked the 5th and 6th straight wins for the Warriors squad - was very textbook Warriors. One game they look invincible, the other they look careless/vulnerable until they put together their patented microwave 2nd half barrage. Their mental capacity to focus when needed is just as admirable as their all-star talent. The defending champions demoralized a team that sat atop the (historically more difficult) conference and owned the best home record. They can also demoralize you by coming out of nowhere and stealing a game right from underneath you, much like their victory against the Pelicans. Everyone says that no lead is safe when you are playing the Warriors. Teams can have stars like Anthony Davis and be up fifteen-plus points only to see their lead vanish in a matter of minutes.
The Warriors will look to extend their win streak to seven games as they play their first game fully healthy (minus Damian Jones) tonight. The Fatal 5 will make their debut together in Los Angeles against the Clippers with DeMarcus Cousins back from his achilles injury suffered a week shy of exactly one year ago. The stage is officially set for all hell to break loose. The World Destruction Tour begins tonight.