The Golden State Warriors, by virtue of last night’s win over the upstart Orlando Magic at the “Roaracle” Arena, set a new NBA record with their 45th straight regular season home win, breaking a mark previously held by the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls. It likely won’t be the last record they’ll snatch from that mythical Bulls squad, but let’s table that for another day.
Not counting the playoffs, when the home fans suffered the indignity of losing twice, most recently in Game 2 of the Finals against Cleveland on June 7th, it has now been 406 calendar days since the Dubs last dropped one at home. And coincidentally enough the Bulls were prominently involved in that too, with Derrick Rose leading the way with 30 points in a 113-111 overtime win. Contrary to the perception that you have to play a perfect game to beat the Warriors, Rose had a sub-optimal 1:11 assist:turnover ratio in that game, though he did hit the game-winning jumper.
If 45 games sounds like a lot to play without a blemish, it’s because it is. For what it’s worth, they had won 19 in a row at home before the Bulls game, so it’s 63 of 64, with the San Antonio Spurs handing Golden State their last regulation home loss previous to that on Nov. 11, 2014. So here’s a look back at some of the close calls, milestones and highlights of the streak.
Game 2, Feb. 4, 2015: The Warriors were down 24-4 to the Mavericks seven minutes into the game and trailing 42-25 after the opening quarter, but Stephen Curry rallied them back with 51 points on 16-of-26 shooting, including 10-of-16 on threes.
Game 6, Mar. 8, 2015: Curry was rather ordinary in a comfortable 106-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, but he made Chris Paul look silly in a pair of dribbling exhibitions. Shaun Livingston was actually the star of the game, with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals off the bench.
Game 8, Mar. 14, 2015: For his 27th birthday, Curry got a pregame visit from Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, who presented him with a customized jersey. He then celebrated with 25 points and 11 assists against the Knicks, whom Golden State outscored 85-46 in the second and third quarters.
Game 11, Mar. 20, 2015: With Klay Thompson out with a sprained ankle and Curry slumping, Harrison Barnes led the Warriors in scoring for the second straight game with 22 points in a 112-96 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He sank 20-of-26 shots for 47 points in those two games, which is why he’ll soon be signing a contract for all of the money.
Game 13, Mar. 23, 2015: Every so often the Warriors remind you that they can be just as special defensively as they are on offense when they put their minds to it. Such was the case in a 107-76 thumping of the Washington Wizards in which they held the Wiz to 27 points in the second half, including eight in the third quarter.
Game 14, Apr. 2, 2015: The Warriors and Phoenix Suns exchanged leads four times over the final 35 seconds, with two defensive miscues by Barnes leading to buckets for the visitors. But he redeemed himself with the game-winning shot in the lane with a second left.
Game 15, Apr. 9, 2015: Curry had 45 points and 10 assists in a 116-105 triumph against the Portland Trail Blazers and hit eight threes to break his then single-season record of 272. He’d go on to finish with 286 on the year. Oh, that reminds me of a funny story… he’s already made 301 of them this season, with 20 games remaining.
Game 17, Apr. 13, 2015: Thompson didn’t quite match his NBA-record 37-point third quarter against Sacramento, scoring just 26 in the second period against the Memphis Grizzlies, but an even bigger story here is that the Dubs almost blew a 32-point third quarter lead, with the Grizz outscoring them 41-18 in the fourth.
Game 19, Oct. 27, 2015: The Warriors raised their NBA championship banner and got their rings before the game, and then Curry showed everyone what he had planned for the encore with 40 points, including 24 in the opening quarter of the season, in a 111-95 win over the Pelicans.
Game 20, Nov. 2, 2015: It’s not every day that you win by 50. Golden State outscored Memphis 72-27 over the second and third quarters in a 119-69 curb-stomping, showing they’d only widened the gap between themselves and the Grizz since their physical, six-game playoff series in the conference semi-finals in May.
Game 21, Nov. 4, 2015: The Warriors were down ten to the Los Angeles Clippers with less than eight minutes remaining, but they wiped away that deficit with a 14-3 run in the blink of an eye, including a personal 10-1 spurt by Barnes, and left Paul to crumple on the bench bewildered once again.
Game 24, Nov. 14, 2015: In the closest call to their streak ending yet, the Warriors almost lost to the miserable Brooklyn Nets, who were up three in the waning seconds. Then Nets coach Lionel Hollins elected not to foul and it cost him dearly, with Draymond Green finding Andre Iguodala for the game-tying three. Then Brook Lopez missed a bunny at the rim right before the buzzer that he makes nine out of ten times. The Warriors went on to blitz them in overtime.
Game 27, Nov. 24, 2015: No one had a noteworthy night individually, but the Warriors set a new NBA record by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 111-77, becoming the first team to start 16-0. They would go on to stretch it to 24-0. Not that the result was much of a surprise, mind you. Losing to the Lakers would’ve been absolutely shocking. I mean, can you imagine?
Game 29, Dec. 16, 2015: Apparently prolific bursts are a thing with Thompson. He lit up the Suns with 27 of his 43 points in the third quarter in a 128-103 wipeout.
Game 30, Dec. 18, 2015: The Milwaukee Bucks had handed the Warriors their first loss a week prior and were surprisingly primed to pull an even bigger upset, up 11 points with fewer than eight minutes to go. The Warriors tied it with an 11-0 run, including eight in a row by Green. The game was tied as late at 2:17 remaining, but Curry helped the home side pull away for good in a 121-112 win.
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) dribbles past Cleveland Cavaliers’ Matthew Dellavedova during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 25, 2015, in Oakland, California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Game 32, Dec. 25, 2015: In a much-anticipated Finals rematch on Christmas, the Warriors out-slugged the Cavs and won despite scoring a season-low 89 points. Green led the way with 22, 15 rebounds and seven assists.
Game 34, Jan. 2, 2016: With Curry limited to just to just 14 minutes by a left leg injury, the Dubs almost blew a 24-point lead to Denver before rallying in overtime. They got off to a 25-4 start eight minutes in and were up 37-13 after the first quarter, but the Nuggets steadily chipped away, tying it on Will Barton’s shot with two seconds left. The game continued back-and-forth in the extra period, but Thompson had the game-winning layup. Meanwhile, Green had a massive triple-double, with 29 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists.
Game 38, Jan. 22, 2016: Steve Kerr made his return to the bench after missing the first 43 games with complications from off-season back surgery, and Curry welcomed his coach back with 39 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds while delighting the fans with a banked-in heave from half-court in a 122-110 victory over Indiana.
Game 39, Jan. 25, 2016: In a showdown of the league’s two best teams, the Warriors showed the Spurs that they’ve got a ways to go to hang with them, with Curry leading the way with 37 points in a 120-90 rout.
Game 41, Feb. 6, 2016: By this point the only challenger to the throne the Dubs hadn’t faced was the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the visitors impressively clawed back from an 18-point third quarter deficit to tie it on Enes Kanter’s layup with 3:36 to go. The Warriors scored the next six points though and the visitors never got closer than four the rest of the way. It would be the first of three close wins against OKC they’d pull off in a month.
Game 43, Mar. 1, 2016: Playing without Curry the Warriors nevertheless led the Atlanta Hawks by 14 points midway through the second quarter before squandering it. Atlanta took a two-point lead with a minute remaining on a pair of Paul Millsap free-throws, but Thompson, who had been struggling mightily, got them to overtime with a controversial trip to the charity stripe and then took over in the extra period.
Game 45, Mar. 7, 2016: And here’s the record, with Curry commemorating the occasion with his 300th three of the season.
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