icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
10 Dec, 2015 00:04

Warriors make it 23-0 and edge closer to Lakers record

Warriors make it 23-0 and edge closer to Lakers record

US basketball champions, the Golden State Warriors, have improved their record to 23-0 with a 131-123 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Shooting guard Klay Thompson scored a season-high of 39 points, with point guard Stephen Curry adding 29 points. Despite a late fight back from the Pacers, the defending NBA champions have now won 27 straight games dating back to last season.

The win sees the Warriors tie the 2012-13 Miami Heat for the second-longest streak in NBA history. The 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers hold the record with 33 wins in a row.

Golden State has also won 13 straight road games this season, going past the 1969-70 New York Knicks record (12) for the league's best road start.

The Warriors dominated from the start, opening up a 50-28 lead early in the second quarter and extending that to as much as 32 late in the third. Indiana rallied in the final session, closing to 129-123 with 24.8 seconds to go, but Warriors held on.

Their relentless pursuit of the Lakers' record has been helped by their dominant road performances. Only two other teams have ever won their first 10 road games of a season – Boston Celtics in 1960/61 and 1961/62 - and they, like the '69/70 Knicks, went on to win the championship that season.

The Warriors currently boast an average of 118 points per game away from the Oracle Arena, compared to 112.9 at home.

Their plus/minus rating of +14.4 is higher than the +13.3 set by the 1995/96 Chicago Bulls, with their road figure of +12.2 better than the 10.1 the Warriors posted for the whole of the last regular season.

RT

The Warriors complete their seven-game road trip with games at Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks on Friday and Saturday.

They return home next Wednesday to begin a five-game homestand against Phoenix Suns, ahead of fixtures against the Bucks again and Utah Jazz in the run up to the holiday period.

Christmas Day sees the Warriors host Cleveland Cavaliers for what could be a chance to equal the Lakers' record, with a possible date with destiny against the Sacramento Kings on 28 December.

Podcasts
0:00
23:13
0:00
25:0