The Warriors may have lost the Bucks Saturday after beginning the season with a record 24 straight wins, but fear not Warriors fans, as Golden State gets a quick shot at revenge when they host the Milwaukee next Friday.
In fact, the Warriors play their next five games at home, including a juicy Christmas Day matchup with the Cavaliers. Of the next 12 games for Golden State, only three are against teams with winning records (Cavaliers, Mavericks, Hornets). You have to assume this team will be looking to start another lengthy streak after losing the final contest of their recent seven-game road trip.
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Golden State still has an absurd 14.1 point differential and leads the race for the league's best record by four games; an incredibly large margin considering the Spurs have won 20 of their first 25 games. Not to mention, the Warriors made just six 3-pointers Saturday. They are the NBA's best 3-point shooting team with two of the top shooters in the league. There probably won't be too many more nights where they only hit six long balls all game, right?
Golden State's interim head coach Luke Walton certainly understands that, which is why he was optimistic just after the game.
“There’s not reason for anyone to hang their heads in the locker room tonight. The losses were going to come," Walton said on NBA TV. "It takes nothing away from what we’ve done to start the regular season. But with that being said we need to get back to some of the things we were doing. Our defense has been slipping so we need to get back to the fundamentals and basics of the game.
“Even if you’re 24-1, losing still sucks."
True, but we don't anticipate the Warriors doing much losing the rest of this season.
The Pistons continue to dominate at home:
The Palace of Auburn Hills has been kind to the Pistons so far this season. After dismantling the Pacers 118-96 on Saturday, Detroit (14-11) moved to 9-3 at home.
In recent seasons, playing in the weaker Eastern Conference has opened doors for unexpected teams to make the conference finals, and the Pistons might be that team this year. Reggie Jackson continued his fine play against Indiana by scoring 21 points and dishing out nine assists. Ersan Ilyasova scored 20 points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 18 points and a career-high eight assists.
Not mentioned was star center Andre Drummond, who already has 21 double-doubles this season. The Pistons still have some holes — namely a weak bench — but they could win a playoff series or two behind their strong starting lineup, stingy defense and great home record.
Highlights:
Klay Thompson returned to the Warriors' starting lineup to do what he does best:
Welcome back Klay Thompson! #SplashDown on @NBATV . #NBARapidReplay https://t.co/mQRL8UY56s
— NBA (@NBA) December 13, 2015 Giannis Antetokounmpo knows how to lead a fast break:
The Greek Freak runs the fast-break to perfection on NBATV! #NBARapidReplay #Textbook https://t.co/Z3TYeAenK6
— NBA (@NBA) December 13, 2015 Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas continues to shine in Marcus Smart's absence:
Isaiah Thomas (21p-13a) helps the @celtics rebound from a tough loss last night to defeat the @hornets 98-93. pic.twitter.com/A24e7cytrS
— NBA (@NBA) December 13, 2015 Studs of the night:
Wizards stars John Wall and Otto Porter Jr. stepped up in a big way with Bradley Beal out (right fibula). Porter scored a career-high 28 points on 11 of 18 shooting in a 114-111 win against the Mavericks. Wall scored 26 points and dished out 16 assists as the duo led Washington (10-12) to a big road win.
Dud of the night:
Hawks point guard Jeff Teague hasn't looked quite right since returning from an ankle injury less than a month ago. Teague finished Saturday with just four points on 0 for 5 shooting in a 103-78 loss against the Spurs at home. Atlanta (14-11) is still one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, but they need to get Teague back on track as the season heats up.
Looking ahead: (All times Eastern)
Grizzlies (13-11) at Heat (12-9) at 6 p.m. — Memphis is finally fully healthy and starting to play better basketball, but Miami is tough at home (10-4 in South Beach). Dwyane Wade (18 points per game, 45 percent shooting) and Chris Bosh (17 ppg, 44 percent shooting) can still fill it up on offense.
Jazz (10-11) at Thunder (15-8) at 7 p.m. — Utah has three players averaging 15 or more points per game, but faces a Thunder team with some dynamic scorers of their own. Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and OKC are rolling now with eight wins in their last 10 games and trail only the Warriors in points per game.