Warriors crush Lakers for best start in NBA history

[November 25, 2015]  By Rory Carroll and Julia Love
 
 OAKLAND (Reuters) - The Golden State Warriors registered the best start in NBA history with their 16th straight victory in a blowout win over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.

The outcome of the game was never really in doubt after the Warriors raced out to a 19-point lead at the end of the first quarter, ultimately cruising to a 111-77 win.

The Warriors' historic win broke the previous record of 15-0 starts held by the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and 1993-94 Houston Rockets.

Warriors point guard and reigning league MVP Stephen Curry led all scorers with 24 points in just 30 minutes of play. With the game in hand, Curry sat out the entire fourth quarter.

The Warriors will now seek to match the record for consecutive victories during an NBA regular season, which is 33 games, set by the 1972 Lakers.

"They're in the history books," Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said of his team after the win. "But we also reminded them that it's November."

Walton said he does not think the Warriors will reach the 33 win mark now because the team will soon embark on a long road trip, which will include games against Toronto, Indiana and Boston.

"I don't see that happening with the upcoming schedule we have," said Walton, who is filling in for injured Golden State coach Steve Kerr. "Eventually we will lose."

Walton praised the performance of forward Draymond Green, who he said had been the best player on the floor Tuesday night.

Green, who stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists, tried to keep the team's achievement in perspective after the game.

"At the end of the day it's 16 wins in the month of November," Green said.

Though the team downplayed the significance of the milestone, Curry said the victories never get old for the defending NBA champions.

"We are genuinely addicted to the feeling of winning," said Curry.

With the loss, the hapless Lakers move to 2-12. Starting forward Kobe Bryant was held to just four points on 14 shot attempts as the Lakers shot a meager 37.8 percent from the field.

Curry said the five-time NBA champion must be frustrated but predicted Bryant would bounce back.

"A guy like that, he's going to come back tomorrow or the next game and still have that confidence," Curry said.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll and Julia Love; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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