Warriors inch toward history with win over Chicago Bulls

Sport360 staff 13:45 21/11/2015
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  • Still unbeaten: Golden State Warriors.

    The Golden State Warriors stretched their perfect record to 14-0 on Friday with a hard-fought 106-94 victory over the Chicago Bulls in Oakland that left them one win away from matching the best start to an NBA season.

    Led by Stephen Curry’s 27 points, the Warriors matched the best start by a reigning NBA champion — the 14-0 start of the 1957-58 Boston Celtics.

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    With a win at Denver on Sunday they can match the best start to a season of 15-0 — achieved by Washington in 1948-49 and the Houston Rockets in 1993-94. They host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

    “I think this would be a cool accomplishment,” Curry said of extending the streak, but it’s looking harder to maintain.

    After rallying from a 23-point first-half deficit to beat the Clippers in Los Angeles on Thursday, the Warriors were in a quick hole against the Bulls, who took a 23-12 lead after just seven minutes.

    In a game that featured 18 lead changes and 17 ties, the Warriors took a slim 77-73 lead into the fourth quarter. But the Bulls wouldn’t go away.

    Curry’s three-pointer with 5:26 to play broke another tie and Harrison Barnes drained back-to-back three-pointers in the final 1:15 as the Warriors finally pulled away. They notched their 26th straight regular-season home win — a run stretching back to a loss to the Bulls last January 27.

    “We wanted to protect our home court,” Curry said. “That’s the feeling that that kind of overpowered the streak.

    “We want to close games at home strong. We did that tonight.” Barnes scored 20 points, making three of his six three-point attempts and pulling down nine rebounds. Shooting guard Klay Thompson added 15 points for the Warriors.

    Guard Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Nikola Mirotic added 18 points and 10 rebounds and center Pau Gasol added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago, who were held to 39.8 percent shooting.

    Kirk Hinrich, standing in for injured star Derrick Rose, added 17 points for the Bulls, who limited Curry to two points in the second quarter and just 10 in the first half but couldn’t hang on at the end.

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