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The struggling Brooklyn Nets gave the Golden State Warriors their toughest test of the year but simply ran out of gas in overtime as the reigning champions scrapped their way to a 107-99 win to remain undefeated.
While Stephen Curry led the team in scoring with 34 points, 2015 NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala played hero tonight with a game-tying 3-pointer near the end of regulation. After Nets center Brook Lopez blew a point blank putback at the end of regulation, a demoralized visiting team still searching for a win seemed to have little left in the tank to compete in the extra period.
Even without Klay Thompson -- who was out due to a back injury -- the Warriors ultimately held on to improve to an incredible 11-0 record for the first time in franchise history. The win came after the Warriors were down double digits in the first half and managed to claw their way back into the game in the second to put themselves in position to win in overtime.
According to Basketball-Reference, the Warriors are now just the 11th team in NBA history to begin a season by winning their first 11 games and the first since the 2002-2003 Dallas Mavericks began their season 14-0. As represented by that Mavericks team — they lost in the Western Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs — this is not exactly a piece of history that's indicative of eventually winning a title, but it's an impressive feat nonetheless in that the Warriors are clearly leaps and bounds beyond the competition right now.
SEASON |
TEAM |
RECORD |
1948-49 |
Washington Capitols |
15-0 |
1993-94 |
Houston Rockets |
15-0 |
1957-58 |
Boston Celtics |
14-0 |
2002-03 |
Dallas Mavericks |
14-0 |
1982-83 |
Seattle SuperSonics |
12-0 |
1996-97 |
Chicago Bulls |
12-0 |
1964-65 |
Boston Celtics |
11-0 |
1990-91 |
Portland Trail Blazers |
11-0 |
1997-98 |
Atlanta Hawks |
11-0 |
1997-98 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
11-0 |
2015-16 |
Golden State Warriors |
11-0 |
All-time best starts in the NBA (data collected from NBA.com).
The Warriors now try to navigate a rough stretch that includes the Toronto Raptors, the L.A. Clippers at Staples Center, and the Chicago Bulls to remain undefeated — honestly, if they make it through that stretch, it's quite conceivable that they could break the record for most wins in a season with only the Denver Nuggets and L.A. Lakers standing in their way in their 15th and 16th games.
As a Warriors fan who has endured years of losing, you have to feel for a struggling Nets team that squandered a golden opportunity tonight after mounting a huge lead early and re-gaining a smaller advantage later -- it might be a while before the Nets even reach 16 wins overall from the looks of things.
Jarrett Jack, who scored a team-high 28 points, and his ragtag bunch of Nets came to Northern California one win above winless and leave the way they came after dropping games to the Warriors and Sacramento Kings on consecutive nights. Like everyone else, they couldn't stop Stephen Curry when it counted even though he wasn't necessarily in peak form from beyond the arc. But as epitomized by Iguodala's clutch shot, the Warriors just had too many weapons to beat in 48 minutes and seemingly impossible to hang with for the extended 53 minute game time.
The Warriors are 1st in assist ratio 20.5,Effective FG%54.9%,True shooting%58.3%, Offensive Efficiency and 2nd in Defensive Eff at 94.3
— Tim Roye (@warriorsvox) November 14, 2015
The Warriors get a day off before trying to keep their historic streak on Tuesday at Oracle Arena against the Toronto Raptors.