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Daily NBA Fix: The Golden State Warriors Can’t Be Stopped

By Ben Gibson

Nov 19, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Down by 23, win by 7. For the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, nothing could get in their way, including the Los Angeles Clippers.

Chris Paul started the game with 18 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting and scored 35 points while Blake Griffin scored 27 and looked unstoppable early on. It just didn’t matter, and it doesn’t get much better than this for the Warriors.

It finally looked like someone had found a way, this time through brute force and a scoring barrage early on, to beat Golden State.

Golden State trailed 68-54 coming out of the intermission and were still trailing by 13 with five minutes left in the third quarter. But the tide was begining to turn at that point and the Warriors cut the gap to 91-85 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Draymond Green.

There are only a few things you need to know about the fourth quarter.

  • The Warriors made 11 of their 15 shots, 73 FG%.
  • Stephen Curry was 3-of-4, all from 3-point range.
  • The Warriors as a whole went 8-of-9 from 3-point range.
  • The game ended on a 22-9 Warriors run.
  • The Clippers were 8-o- 22, a 36.4 FG%.

It was simply amazing to hear the life being sucked out of the Staples Center as it slowly became apparent that the Warriors were rallying and eventually were going to win. You could feel it coming.

It is hard to now just laugh at what’s going on. The Warriors have had some close games, sure, but they are still posting a 111.7 offensive rating and 96.7 defensive rating, a 15-point net rating. That’s ranked first and seventh in the league, respectively. Stephen Curry may be the superstar, but the entire team is coming together to destroy their opponents.

They won’t go 82-0, but right now 70+ wins isn’t out of the question. They most certainly will come down from this high, but even if the return is to what they were last season, the whole league should be scared.

The real question right now is why would you pick anyone else to win the championship this season?

The Greek Freak is Becoming a Star

Giannis Antetokounmpo is only 20 years old but he’s starting to become a star as he and his Milwaukee Bucks team take the right steps forward. Being able to hold your own against LeBron James is a good sign for anyone’s career. Antetokounmpo scored career-high 33 points but it was the Cavaliers that came out on top 115-100 behind LeBron’s 27 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.

Rondo is Back

After the way things ended last season it was hard to know if Rajon Rondo was ever going to get back to being one of the league’s better point guards. However, his recent streak of games and a season-high 18 assists last night against the Miami Heat is starting to give us an answer.

The dysfunctional Sacramento Kings fell 116-109 to the Heat, but you can’t blame Rondo for the Kings’ troubles.