If Friday was supposed to be a litmus test, the Warriors are definitely for real.
The Bulls arrived at Chase Center tied atop Eastern Conference standings while the Warriors’ 10-1 mark entering Friday’s contest represented the league’s best record. After rolling through subpar competition during its first seven games of the homestand, the Warriors figured to get a huge challenge from Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and the Bulls.
The Warriors made it look easy.
Steph Curry carried the offense on his back while Andrew Wiggins played second fiddle Friday night. Despite a clunky start, the Warriors rolled to a 119-93 win with a dominant defensive effort over the Bulls to move to 11-1 on the season.
"We were pretty good last year, too," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of his defense. "We had the fifth-ranked defense in the league last year. But I think this year, the addition of Andre [Iguodala], his return along with having Gary Payton [II] a prominent role has given us two all-world defenders to add to the mix. Draymond is always the key to everything we do and he anchors the defense."
Curry caught fire in the third quarter, scoring 15 of his 40 points while draining four 3-pointers. He finished 15-of-24 from the field, including 9-of-17 from 3-point land. In the process, he surpassed Ray Allen as the NBA’s all-time leader in career 3-point field goals, including postseason statistics.
He sealed the game with a 3-point kiss in the fourth quarter that extended the lead to 23, draining wide open trifecta in transition for his final bucket of the game.
Curry said it was comforting to see his college coach, Davidson's Bob McKillop, in the crowd Friday night. Davidson is set to play USF on Saturday at Chase Center but Curry and the Warriors will be traveling to Charlotte.
"It's special," Curry said. "To have coach in the building, the players somewhere in the arena, it always gets me going. Reminded me of the journey to get here and all that went it to making me a player, person that I am, and all he poured into me. Love that relationship I have with him. He's a gem. That smile, when I saw him on the sidelines, it was like was back on East Coast."
Following the convincing victory, the Warriors are leaving little room for doubt that they’re contenders again. The season is only a dozen games deep, but the team’s suffocating defense and revolving door of depth are good indicators that the Warriors are for real. Golden State limited the Bulls to a season-low in points and dropped its defensive rating to a league-best 98.7, according to NBA.com.
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Warriors forward Kevon Looney said he's not surprised to see that the Warriors went 7-1 on their homestand, with all wins coming by double digits. Looney said the Warriors' style of play tends to wear down teams in the third quarter, like they did Friday, outscoring the Bulls 35-17 in the period.
"Steph has always been a third-quarter killer since I've been here," Looney said. "Steph in the third has always been a thing. Our style of play starts to wear people down, our pace, our defense. Our pace -- when we're not turning the ball over, when we're not fouling, when we're getting the ball out on the rim, Draymond's pushing it and Steph's pushing it, causing chaos, I think we start to wear people down and break down the defense and break down the teams' spirits."
The Warriors couldn’t stop turning the ball over to start the game, as sloppy passing led to seven giveaways in the first nine minutes of the game. Once Golden State could control the ball, it went on a 25-10 run that helped the Warriors turn a six-point deficit to a six-point lead.
Draymond Green didn’t look slowed by a thigh contusion he suffered in Wednesday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, scoring seven points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists in 15 high-energy first-half minutes. He buried a 3-pointer and also created dunking opportunities for himself off the dribble.
Wiggins also had a productive second quarter as he drew Zach LaVine defensive responsibilities. Wiggins showed major spurts of aggressiveness and finished with 15 points, while Jordan Poole added 14.
The Warriors will finally hit the road, beginning with Sunday’s contest at the Charlotte Hornets.
