The Golden State Warriors are putting up historically great numbers this season, but some wins are just good, like their 114-111 victory over the Boston Celtics. Klay Thompson? He didn’t break any records, but it doesn’t mean he had a difficult time scoring.
Improving to 36-6, the Warriors are the ninth team in NBA history to win 36 of their first 42 games in a season, and the first since the San Antonio Spurs in the 2010-2011 season. The first six teams to reach that mark, from the 76ers in the 1966-1967 season to the Chicago Bulls in the 1996-1997 season, also ended up making the NBA finals and winning the champions. The last two teams – the Spurs we mentioned and the Detroit Pistons in 2005-2006, failed to even make the finals.
Thompson scored 31 points to show he hasn’t really cooled off from his career-best performance against the Kings. He was once again focused only on scoring, almost always providing the last stop for the ball, finishing with 11-of-19 from the field. Stephen Curry wasn’t as accurate (37.5% from the field) but did score 22 points and helped out with 11 assists. Andrew Bogut had himself a 13-13 double double and Draymond Green scored 14 points.
The Celtics put up a better fight than expected, but used a 34-25 fourth quarter to make the game seem a bit closer than it actually was, with the Warriors running away in the third quarter with their usual brand of excellent defense and turning it into easy points on the other end, finishing with 23 fast break points. With all of their offensive talent and the fame of their splash brothers, turning defense into easy points has been their biggest weapon this season.