Category: Golden State Warriors

Warriors’ Kerr named West’s top coach of the month

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr was named the NBA’s Western Conference Coach of the Month for January, the league announced Monday. Kerr guided the Warriors to an NBA-best 12-3 mark for the month, becoming the first Warriors head coach to win Coach of the Month honors since Don Nelson in April 2007 and joining Nelson (April 2007 & February 1989) and George Karl (March 1987) as the only coaches in Warriors history to receive the monthly accolade (the NBA began giving out the award in 1982-83).

The news was first reported by CSNBayArea.

Golden State led the NBA in points per game for the month (116.2), field goal percentage (.485) and point differential (+14.0).

January also saw Golden State extend it’s franchise-best 19 game home winning streak (Nov. 13 – Jan. 25), and All-Star reserve Klay Thompson won his third Western Conference Player of the Month Award.

After snapping a two-game losing streak Saturday with a 106-87 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Oracle Arena, the Warriors return to the hardwood Tuesday to take on the Kings in Sacramento.

Warriors shake off slow start, sink Suns

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Stephen Curry finished with 25 points and Klay Thompson scored 22 points to help the Golden State Warriors stop a two-game losing streak with a 106-87 win over the Phoenix Suns Saturday night at Oracle Arena.

“We got back to our style of basketball,” said Curry, who combined with Thompson shot 19-for-30 from the floor. “We we’re slumping a little bit and wasn’t playing well, so this was big for us.”

Harrison Barnes added 13 points and eight rebounds, Leandro Barbosa scored 14, and Andre Iguodala finished with 12 points for Golden State (37-8), who shook off a sluggish start where the missed their first 10 shots of the game.

Daymond Green fell one point short of a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing 11 rebounds. During one timeout, Green was heard telling teammates, “we got to get our focus back and play better.”

Phoenix jumped out to a 40-28 lead midway through the second quarter, but rallied to close out the frame to take a 52-51 lead into halftime and never looked back.

After finding themselves down by 12 to Phoenix, Golden State outscored the Suns 78-47 the rest of the way that proved to be difference.

Golden State’s 15-2 run midway through the fourth quarter proved to be the difference for the Warriors, who got back into the win column.

“Great effort by our guys tonight,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “The defensive effort in the second half was tremendous. We closed out on the shooters, got into passing lanes, got back on track.”

Golden State shot 46 percent from the floor (40-for-87), while holding one of the NBA’s best scoring teams to well under their 100 points per game average and 36 percent shooting (33-for-91).

The Warriors had seven players with two or more assists led by Curry’s seven.

Phoenix did get the best of Golden State on the glass, outrebounding the Warriors 52-44.

“We have great passers on our team,” said Barbosa. “It helped the team and we were able to get the ball moving and played better tonight.”

Markieff Morris had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Eric Bledsoe finished with 16 points for Phoenix (28-21) just fell apart in the second half.

Goran Dragic scored 10 points and Isaiah Thomas added 13 points. Phoenix shot 35 percent on 3s (9-for-26).

The Warriors improved to 22-2 at Oracle Arena this season. With a 12-3 record in January, it was Golden State’s best January since the 1974-75 season.

Golden State heads up to Sacramento Tuesday to take on the Kings.

 

 

The Jazz upsets the Warriors

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still smarting from the loss to Chicago Tuesday night, travelled to Salt Lake City to square off against the lowly Utah Jazz. The Jazz , with a record of 16-30 before start of play, had other thoughts and stunned the Warriors 110-100 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate. The Jazz led wire to wire and the Warriors probably played their worst game of the year. The Jazz out rebounded, out hustled, defensed better and would not the Dubs get their running game going and had and answered every challenge that the Warriors threw at them.

The first period set the tone for the game. Utah took a 13-8 lead halfway through the first period.

The Warriors were cold and could score just nineteen points. It was the lowest scoring first period all year for the Warriors. The Jazz increased the lead to eleven at the end of the first half 56-45. Steph Curry finally knocked a three point shot late in the first half to end an 0 for 20 drought going back to the Chicago game. The Jazz continued to play well and the Warriors were hampered by sloppy ball handling and they were hoping to get their offense going and to stop the Jazz on defense. They could no neither. The Jazz had a 99-83 lead with 5:41 to play. The game got a little closer when Leandro Barbosa entered the game. Barbosa scored sixteen points in 13 minutes of action but it was too little,too late as the Warriors lost their second game in row for the third time this year.

Notes- Steph Curry was the only potent force in the Warrior lineup as he scored thirty-two points and had seven assists and three steals. Klay Thompson, who had been very hot, was cooled off and he scored just twelve points and had two rebounds. The only other Warrior in double figures was Barbosa.

Andrew Bogut played twenty-three minutes but all he could produce was four points, four rebounds and four assists. He may have been feeling the effects of the flu as he sat out the Chicago game.

David Lee, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala just couldn’t get their games going

as the loss was very ugly.

Stars for the Jazz were forward Gordon Hayward who had twenty-six points and fifteen rebounds Trevor Booker and Trey Burke, coming off the bench had seventeen points, seven rebounds and three assists and Burke had fifteen points and seven assists.

The Warriors were out rebounded 55-41 and the Jazz dominated both the offensive and defensive boards. The Warriors shot 43% from the floor but the Jazz was slightly better 44.7%.

After the game, Warrior coach, Steve Kerr, said" it’s hard to win. You need energy and focus and we didn’t have it. They(the Jazz) are a hungry and young team and they took it to us."

The Warriors are now 36-8 for the year and return home to the Oracle Arena to face the Phoenix Suns

Saturday night at 7:30pm PT.

Bulls snap Warriors’ 19-game home winning streak in OT

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — For the first time in 19 games at Oracle Arena, the Golden State Warriors know what it feels like to lose.

Derrick Rose’s step back jumper with 7 seconds in overtime lifted the Chicago Bulls to a 113-111 victory over Golden State Tuesday night, snapping the Warriors’ franchise record 19-game home winning streak.

Rose finished with 30 points 13-of-33 shooting, seven rebounds, and 11 turnovers (1 assist). According to Elias Sports Bureau, Rose is the first player in NBA history to have at least 30 points, 10 turnovers, and 1 or fewer assists in a game.

Klay Thompson’s running bank shot with 2.9 seconds left rimmed out, sending Golden State to only their second home loss of the season. Not to mention it was Golden State’s first loss in 15 games to the Eastern Conference this season.

Chicago took a 107-105 lead after Kirk Hinrich drilled a 3 from the right side with 15.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Then with 1.4 seconds remaining, Warriors’ power forward Draymond Green out-jumped Bulls’ big men Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol to tip in a missed Andre Iguodala desperation 3 that tied the game at 107, forcing overtime.

“We wanted to compete with those guys,” said Rose after the game. “They are a great team that competes and we were able to stay with them and keep the game close, which helped us get the win.”

Gasol finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds, Noah scored 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Nikola Mirotic scored 12 points, while Taj Gibson and Aaron Brooks each scored 10 points off the bench for Chicago (30-17), who got back into the win column after losing to the Miami Heat 96-84 in Chicago Sunday.

With Andrew Bogut coming down with flu-like symptoms shortly before tipoff and Marreese Speights inserted into the starting lineup, Chicago bullied a depleted Warriors’ frontcourt, out-rebounding Golden State 61-48.

“Their frontline was tough tonight,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “It was a great game, fun game. There were times we felt like we had the game but, they [Chicago], worked. We scrapped and clawed, but we didn’t get it done.”

Kerr was right, Golden State didn’t get it done tonight against a Bulls team that clapped down defensively on Golden State.

After shooting 61 percent from the field in the first quarter (12-for-23), Golden State had trouble putting the ball in the basket finishing 48-of-113 (42 percent).

“We looked tired…after such a hot start in the first quarter, but just couldn’t get

The NBA’s No. 1 3-point shooting team couldn’t buy a bucket in the second half, shooting 0-for-13 from behind the arc after shooting 6-of-11 from deep in the first quarter.

Golden State shot 9-of-33 (27 percent) on 3s.

Thompson scored 20 of his game-high 30 points in the first half, Stephen Curry scored 21 points and dished out nine assists, but the “Splash Brothers” shot 9-of-32 in the second half and in overtime.

Thompson added 10 rebounds, and Curry had nine assists.

David Lee had one of his best games of the season, scoring 17 of his 23 points in the third quarter. Lee shot 10-for-17 from the floor.

“I thought we had a stretch in the fourth quarter where we didn’t score and they picked it up,” said Lee, who also had nine rebounds and six assists. “I thought we fought hard, but just came up short tonight.”

Golden State dominated the fast break, outscoring the Bulls 31-8, and forced 21 turnovers into 22 points.

At 36-7, Golden State are still playing at a high level, but you can’t win them all. The Warriors close out their five-game homestand at 4-1, bringing their home record to an NBA-best 21-2.

Golden State get back on the court Friday night in Utah.

Game Notes

  • The Warriors announced on Monday that the team plans to wear a special Chinese New Year uniform. The uniform, which will be worn for Golden State’s home game against the San Antonio Spurs on Feb. 20, has “Warriors” is spelled out in Mandarin on the uniform’s front, and the sleeve features a goat, the animal the Chinese attribute to this upcoming year. The jersey also features red and yellow piping. Red is the color associated with good luck, while yellow is connected to wealth and happiness.”The meaning of a warrior certainly translates into the Chinese culture well as they are very familiar with what being a warrior means,” said Rick Welts, the team’s president and chief operating officer. “I think they’d be hard-pressed to make a similar connection to the Lakers.”
  • The 2015 NBA All-Star game reserves will be announced Thursday, and Klay Thompson is expected to be named a reserve. Thompson was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for the third time this season on Monday.
  • First 10,000 fans At Oracle Arena received the tallest bobblehead (10”) in Warriors franchise history Tuesday of former center, Manute Bol.Bol played for the Warriors for three seasons (1988-90, 1994-95). In his first season with Golden State in 1988-89, Bol led the league with a team-record 345 blocks while also demonstrating a rare shooting touch for a man his size, converting on 20 three-pointers. The Sudanese star averaged 3.34 blocks per game in his career, the second-best mark in league history, and ranks 15th on the NBA’s all-time blocks list with over 2,000 career rejections. Bol’s son, Chris Bol, was in attendance to honor his father, who passed away on June 19, 2010.

 

 

Warriors Squeak Past Celtics Thanks to Thompson’s Encore

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

What would Klay Thompson do for an encore after dropping 37 points in a quarter Friday night? The All-star hopeful didn’t quite replicate the matching and drop 40 over 12 minutes, but he did produce a game-high 31 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 114-111 win over the Boston Celtics Sunday at Oracle Arena.

One game after setting the NBA points record in a quarter against the Sacramento Kings, Thompson hit 11 of 19 field goals (including three three-pointers) over 32 minutes to help the Dubs (36-6) extend their home winning streak to 19.
Thompson didn’t shoulder the burden alone. Fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry picked up his 15th double-double, scoring 22 while dishing out 11 assists. Andrew Bogut joined curry for a double double-double, scoring 13 while pulling down a game-best 13 rebounds.

The Celtics (15-27) rode a near double-double from Jared Sullinger to remain in contention against the NBA’s best. The former Ohio State Buckeye worked the Warriors defense for 26 points but came a rebound shy of double-digit totals. Guard Evan Turner produced an efficient shooting night, hitting 7 of 12 attempted shots from the floor for 19 points.

After taking a 3-2 lead, the Warriors never trailed in the first quarter, but couldn’t extend the lead more than seven points, ultimately settling for a 30-23 first quarter edge. The second quarter was more of the same with the tenacious Celtics hanging around to trail 56-49 at the half.

The Warriors appeared to be putting their potential draft lottery-pick bound opponents away, staking out as much as a twelve-point lead after an Andre Iguodala layup put the Warriors ahead 86-74, closing out the quarter ahead 89-77. The Celtics made the Warriors sweat it out though, scoring 34 fourth-quarter points to the Warriors 25, pulling one possession away from a chance to tie.

With a victory nearly stolen, the Warriors now face a tough test in the visiting Chicago Bulls. If the Warriors want to make it 20-straight at home, they’ll have to top the Central Division’s best Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.

Warriors ground Rockets, win 17th straight at Oracle

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By Joe Hawkes

OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors continue to make winning in the NBA and over the Houston Rockets an easy

Klay Thompson scored 27 points and Stephen Curry finished with 22 points and 10 assists as Golden State established a new franchise record with their 17th consecutive home win with a 126-113 victory over Houston Wednesday in front of the 102nd straight sellout at Oracle Arena.

Golden State completed the four-game sweep over Houston this season, which hasn’t been done since the 1973-74 season.

Draymond Green had 18 points and six rebounds and Harrison Barnes finished with 11 points as Golden State shot 50 percent from the floor (49-for-98), while holding the Rockets to just 42 percent shooting (37-for-87).

“We got the best fans in the league,” Green said. “They make it tough for teams to come and try to beat us.”

Marreese Speights and David Lee finished with nine points off the bench for Golden State. Lee reached the 10,000-point career milestone in the process.

Andrew Bogut also finished with nine points, but recorded 10 rebounds and five blocks while playing 22 minutes.

The Warriors utilized a 26-6 run in the second quarter to push their lead to 62-42 at halftime.

Tempers flared in the third quarter when Curry ran after Rockets’ forward Trevor Ariza bumped the Warriors’ point guard.

“I got a technical for nothing,” said Curry. “Softest technical I’ve ever gotten. I thought it was a cheap shot, even if he didn’t meant it, that’s how I felt at the time.”

Ariza was assessed a technical in fact, Houston had four technical fouls called against them, two of them on forward Josh Smith who was ejected in the third quarter for arguing with referee, Tre Maddox.

Both teams finished even in total rebounds (46), while Golden State finished with the edge in assists (26-23), and Houston leading the turnover battle (19-16).

Golden State was lights out from beyond the arc, shooting 13-for-29 on 3s (44 percent). Houston shot 13-for-32 from downtown (40 percent).

“I thought we played well tonight, but we could’ve ended the game better,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “We didn’t close the game like we normally do, but we had a big lead so we were able to ride it out.”

Golden State biggest lead was 30 points.

Houston (29-14) just didn’t seem to have it again against Golden State Wednesday night.

Outside of James Harden’s game-high 33 points, Corey Brewer (20 points) and Jason Terry (14 points), no other Rockets players scored more than nine points.

Center Dwight Howard finished with seven points and 11 rebounds while battling foul trouble. Howard also picked up a first quarter technical and was clearly frustrated for the remainder of the game.

“They play hard, and fast,” said Houston head coach Kevin McHale. “They make you make plays, they defend, and they pressure you. Give them credit for playing a great game.”

Golden State (34-6) joins just 10 teams since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976 to win 34 of their first 40 games of the season. At 19-1, the Warriors sport the best home record in the league.

“Teams are going come in a give their best effort,” Bogut said. “We’ll bring our game and continue to play hard and tough.”

The Warriors continue their five-game homestand Friday night with their I-80 brethren, Sacramento Kings visiting Oracle Arena.

 

 

That’s Amaury to appear at Ricky’s Theatre and Grill this Saturday in San Leandro

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Dear Fans and media your invited to attend Ricky’s Grill and Theatre Grill in San Leandro for the Lefty O’Doul Chapter and Sacramento Chapter joint meeting this Saturday January 24, 2015 at 11:00 AM. I’ll be your speaker that morning with Comcast TV analyst Shooty Babitt, the cost is $35 and the proceeds will benefit the retired members of the Cuban baseball Community. Join us for fun, humor, laughs, and of course my favorite Ricky’s famous Chicken Cesar salad can’t wait for that one especially as Ricky will be making up some great food. Here’s the full details below:

Lefty O’Doul Chapter and Sacramento Chapter joint meeting

WHEN: 11 a.m.-4 p.m., SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015.

WHERE: Ricky’s Sports Theatre and Grill, 15028 Hesperian Blvd, San Leandro, CA 94578
COST: $35 (includes lunch); choice of: 1) Ricky’s flame broiled cheeseburger and fries; 2) Flame broiled chicken breast sandwich and fries; 3) Buffalo wings; 4) Chicken Caesar salad; 5) Tri-tip sandwich and fries-BBQ or French Dip.
RSVP by January 19 with your lunch selection to mvogelsang@sbcglobal.net; make check payable to Pete McPhail and mail to PO Box 7653, Fremont, CA 94537.

CONTACT: Marlene Vogelsang, mvogelsang@sbcglobal.net

PROGRAM DETAILS: Our guest speakers include Ricky Ricardo, owner of the legendary Ricky’s; Amaury Pi-González, SABR member, Spanish language broadcaster and VP of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum; and Shooty Babitt, ballplayer, scout and TV analyst. This will also be a members research reporting meeting, so please start thinking about your participation. We will hold our traditional book raffle as well as offer a very special “Cigar Fund” Silent Auction, featuring items of beisbol de Cuba, with proceeds to benefit “retired” members of the Cuban baseball community.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland A’s baseball and is the vice president of the MLB Hispanic Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors Bury Nuggets, Win 16th Conescutive Home Game

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

James Michael McAdoo’s loyalty to the Golden State Warriors has paid off, possibly far sooner than the forward expected.

Just hours after singing a 10-day contract with the Warriors, McAdoo found himself on the court at Oracle Arena.
The former North Carolina Tar Heel started the season in training camp with the Warriors after going undrafted, but was ultimately waived as the Dubs trimmed their roster.

With multiple NBA offers on the table thanks to his impressive play with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the D-League, the talented 22-year-old opted to return to the team that first put faith in him. In return, the coach Steve Kerr inserted him into the rotation during today’s 122-79 blowout of the Denver Nuggets.

McAdoo saw just 12:37 of game-time, collecting 11 points in his NBA Debut, but wasn’t asked to do the heavy lifting. That responsibility fell to the Splash Brothers, and deliver they did.
Stephen Curry (20 points) and Klay Thompson (22) combined for 42 points. The duo each went 7-for-13 shooting.
Reserves Leandro Barbosa and Shaun Livingston chipped in 12 points apiece. As a team, the Warriors hit an impressive 54.3 percent shooting.

The Nuggets (18-23), losers of three-straight, scuffled in the face of the Warriors defensive presence, shooting just 34.5 percent from the field for the night. Golden State’s stout defending handed the home team a 55-28 lead at the half, allowing the Warriors to cruise through the final two quarters for the romp. The Nuggets cracked 20-plus points in only one quarter, scoring 32 in the third, while being held to 15, 13 and 19 points in the other three periods.

With the win, the Warriors (33-6) have now matched the franchise record in consecutive home wins with 16. The NBA-leadings Dubs get a chance to break the tie Wednesday night when they welcome the Houston Rockets to Oracle Arena.

Golden State Warriors commentary & podcast: A quick look back at the Warriors last season comparing to this season

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by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–The Warriors are sitting here in mid January at 31-5 they have the best record in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks have as many wins but they have a few more loses than the Warriors. Golden State just keeps rolling and nothing seems to faze this team it doesn’t matter what adversity they face what injuries they have. They seemed to be able to play right through them. Except that little blip on the radar in Los Angeles against the Clippers and the Lakers around Christmas time.

The Warriors really don’t have any issues on the court, there have been a couple of close games but those are even hard to come by. The Warriors have won eight straight games won by double digits. This is a team that’s not only winning every night but their winning fairly easily, their not facing a lot of close end of game situations. That’s something they struggled with last season.

The Warriors largely came back this season with the same personnel they won 51 games which is a very good season and the made it to the playoffs. One of the problems they have was late in the game when they had a decent lead they let up and when they let up the other team would get another breath of fresh air. The opponents would get a second wind and they would start coming back and the Warriors would have to start fighting them off and hang onto that victory.

Sometimes last season they would get a win and sometimes they didn’t, the big problem was they were letting the other teams back into the game. That poses all sorts of problems, number one it risks the results of the game from getting that win. On several occasions games that seemed pretty well in hand in the third quarter last season ended up going the opposite way and the Warriors ended up losing.

If the Warriors win those games they would have to end up bringing in the starter to close out the game to seal the victory because the second stringers weren’t able to hold and finish. That just wore the team out last year of over the course of the season. When you think about Steph Curry’s ankle and every single body part on Andrew Bogut and just the general wear and tear that goes with the full season.

If you can rest a guy for the last five or six minutes of several games over the course of the season that really adds up and what happens was the Warriors in the playoffs Bogut went down late in the season and didn’t play against the Clippers. Everybody was just generally worn out, when your doing these double digit victories early in the season it bodes well for later in the season because you can cut down on the minutes of the starters and you can get them some rest.

David Zizmor does weekly commentary on the Golden State Warriors for http://www.sportradioservice.com

Warriors Tie Franchise Record with 15th Home Win In A Row, Beat Heat 104-89

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OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 14: The Golden State Warriors huddle before the game against the Miami Heat on January 14, 2015 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – JANUARY 14: The Golden State Warriors huddle before the game against the Miami Heat on January 14, 2015 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – In a big news day around the Bay Area the Golden State Warriors (31-5) made sure their names were in the headlines as the tied a franchise record with their 15th straight home win with a victory over the Miami Heat (17-22) 104-89. Stephen Curry led all players with 32 points which included a seven of ten night from beyond the arch. Andre Iguodala lead the team with 7 assists and David Lee and Marreese Speights both had a team high six rebounds.

For Miami, Chris Bosh had 26 points and seven rebounds while Luol Deng added 19 points of his own. Dwayne Wade was held out of tonight’s contest with a strained left hamstring.

Curry and Klay Thompson got the Warriors off to a great start as the scored the teams first 14 points and led the Warriors to a 26-18 after the first quarter. In the early second quarter, head coach Steve Kerr sent in the second unit to face the Heat and they helped build the lead from 8 points to 17 to end the first half with a 55-38 lead.

“I thought that was the key point in the game. Our defense really kicked in and it was nice that the defense came from the group that maybe you didn’t expect it from,” said Kerr. “David (Lee) was terrific and I loved his energy. Andre was always in the right place and handled the ball for us. That group was really good for us.”

The Heat turned up the pressure in the second half when they outscored the Warriors 51 to 49 but the Warriors defense came up big and stopped the Heat before they were able to start a run. With a little over nine minutes left in the game the Heat’s Shawne Williams made a 27-foot three pointer to bring the Warriors lead down to nine points. However the always impressive Justin Holliday scored five points in under 40 seconds and brought the lead back up to 14.

The Warriors are now 13-0 over Eastern Conference teams and off to their best start in years. With the amazing start by the Warriors Steve Kerr had this to say on the rest of the season.

“I think this is the beginning of the dog days in the NBA. Now until the All Star break is when it gets hard. The newness of the season is over and we’re on this great run and we’re not even halfway through and guys are getting tired. We’re trying to get through that and if we’re able to pick up wins then that’s great.”

The Warriors head to Oklahoma City and try to extend their win streak to nine on Friday night to take on Kevin Durant and the Thunder.