The last couple seasons have been filled with notable milestones for the Golden State Warriors, and the first few weeks of the 2016-17 campaign have been no different. Whether as a team or individually, the Warriors are leaving their marks on the NBA record books, and it’s their consistency that has set them apart.
Fool Me Once, But Not Twice
With their victory over the Nuggets in Denver on Thursday night, the Warriors ensured they’d accomplish something that’s never been done before in NBA history. That win marked the Warriors’ 95th-straight regular season game without suffering consecutive losses, which ties them with the Utah Jazz for the longest such streak in league history.
To find the last time Golden State lost consecutive regular season games, we have to go all the way back to the end of the 2014-15 season, when the Warriors lost back-to-back games in San Antonio and New Orleans on April 5th and 7th, 2015. Stephen Curry’s would-be game-tying three-pointer rattled in and out as time expired in that loss to the Pelicans, meaning that perhaps this current streak could be considerably longer if not for a centimeter here or there, but nonetheless, it’s a remarkable team accomplishment that speaks to their consistency in effort and preparation. The 2015-16 Warriors were the first team in NBA history to play an entire regular season without suffering back-to-back losses. In addition, that squad was the first team in NBA history to play an entire regular season without losing to the same team twice.
At a minimum, the Dubs are guaranteed to stretch their current streak to 96 games when they host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, leaving them all alone atop the list.
20/20 Vision
While Golden State kept a team streak going on Thursday, another lengthy individual one unfortunately came to an end. Kevin Durant departed the Warriors’ victory over the Nuggets with 5:50 remaining in the fourth quarter and 18 points to his name, and remained on the bench for the duration of the contest. That marked the first time in 73 games that Durant failed to score at least 20 points, leaving him tied with Michael Jordan for the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history. Anytime you’re tied with Jordan, chances are you’ve done something pretty remarkable, and Durant’s case certainly qualifies. Durant’s streak was more than three times longer than the next-longest active streak, which now belongs to James Harden at 23 games. For reference, Stephen Curry’s longest 20-point streak of his career sits at 14 games, speaking to just how tough it is to be that consistent of a scoring threat over such a long period of time.
Given Durant’s track record, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see him start a new streak on Sunday. That said, he still has the longest active 18-point streak in the league...
Splash-tastic Voyage
Speaking of Curry, he’s on a whole different level when it comes to consistency in three-point shooting, and it came as a complete and utter shock to most NBA fans when he failed to make a single three-pointer in the Warriors loss to the Lakers last week. Although he managed to record 13 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in that defeat, his trey-less game snapped his NBA-record streak of 157-straight regular season and 196-straight (including postseason) games with a three-pointer. So, how did the two-time reigning and first-ever unanimous MVP respond? Like only the best three-point shooter of all-time could.
The very next game after going 0-for-10 from behind the line, Curry reminded everyone why he might be the best shooter in NBA history by setting the new NBA record with 13 made three-pointers against the Pelicans on Monday. To put that number in perspective, that was more three-pointers than players like J.J. Redick, Kyle Lowry, Devin Booker, LeBron James and even Klay Thompson had made on the season at that time. Curry seems to have carried over the momentum generated by his legendary 13-of-17 three-point shooting performance against New Orleans into the Warriors’ two games since, shooting a combined 24-of-38 (.632) from beyond the arc over that three-game span. The recent surge has nearly gotten Curry back on his record-setting pace of a year ago in which he obliterated his own NBA record by making 402 three-pointers in a season. Curry has splashed 43 three-pointers through the Warriors’ first nine games this season, just one shy of the 44 he sank in their first nine games in ’15-’16.