OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors registered the best start in NBA history with their 16th straight victory in a blowout win over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.
The outcome of the game was never really in doubt after the Warriors raced out to a 19-point lead at the end of the first quarter, ultimately cruising to a 111-77 win.
The Warriors’ historic win broke the previous record of 15-0 starts held by the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and 1993-94 Houston Rockets.
Warriors point guard and reigning league MVP Stephen Curry led all scorers with 24 points in just 30 minutes of play. With the game in hand, Curry sat out the entire fourth quarter.
The Warriors will now seek to match the record for consecutive victories during an NBA regular season, which is 33 games, set by the 1972 Lakers.
“They’re in the history books,” Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said of his team after the win. “But we also reminded them that it’s November.”
Forward Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
With the loss, the hapless Lakers move to 2-12. Starting forward Kobe Bryant was held to just four points on 14 shot attempts as the Lakers shot a meager 37.8 percent from the field.
Pacers 123, Wizards 106: Paul George scored a season-high 40 points as the Indiana Pacers sank a franchise-record 19 three-pointers in their 123-106 win over the Washington Wizards.
Indiana shot 73.1 percent (19 of 26) from beyond the arc, with their starting forwards George and C.J. Miles, with a career-high 32 points, doing the damage.
Miles made 8-of-9 three-pointers, while George finished 7-of-8. The duo combined to make their first 11 three-point attempts. Indiana has won nine of its last 11 games.
Gary Neal scored 23 points while Bradley Beal had 20 for the Wizards.
Grizzlies 110, Mavericks 96: Guard Mike Conley scored 21 points and forward Jeff Green added 19 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 110-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Hawks 121, Celtics 97: Paul Millsap led seven Hawks in double figures with 25 points while Jeff Teague added 16 points and nine assists as Atlanta celebrated the retirement of Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo’s number 55 jersey with victory over the Boston Celtics. Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 25 points to lead the Celtics.
Clippers 111, Nuggets 94: Center DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 11 rebounds while forward Blake Griffin also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets.
Bulls 93, Trail Blazers 88: The Bulls sank six straight free throws over the final 15.9 seconds to close out the road victory. — Agencies
