In a high-level conference game, the Golden State Warriors hosted a game against the Bulls at the Oracle Arena. The game had 17 ties and 18 lead changes as Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler clashed. Unfortunately for the Bulls, the Warriors dominated the final 5 minutes of the 4th quarter for a 106-94 victory over Chicago and their 14th straight win to open the season.
In the 142nd straight sellout at Oracle Arena, the Warriors improved their franchise-best home start to 8-0 and became the 15th team in NBA history to win at least 26 consecutive regular-season home games.
”It’s a goal that’s right here and now and it’s something that we want to experience,” Curry said. ”It’d be a huge accomplishment because doing something that hasn’t been done in the history of the league is special. You never know if this opportunity will come back again. There are so many variables that go into winning this many in a row, especially the start of the season.”
For the Warriors, Curry scored nine of his team’s 27 points in the fourth quarter. Harrison Barnes, forward, added 8 points. Klay Thompson, guard, overcame his back injury and scored 15 points.
During their last game against the Indiana Pacers, Derrick Rose sprained his ankle. It’s no surprise that he missed the showdown against Curry.
Butler compiled a game-high 28 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals, and get this: he spent time defending both Curry and power forward Draymond Green. Butler spent a lot of time on Curry, including when the Warriors’ point guard put his team ahead for good with a three-pointer at the 5:26 mark. The Warriors’ backcourt was plus-24 in the fourth quarter, and the Bulls’ backcourt.
“It was a difficult game for the Bulls but they persevere against the champs. Having Derrick Rose sit out made a huge difference and I think we would have done a little bit better if he played. It’s 3 all stars vs. 2. That’s the difference,” said Brianna Luckose, avid Bulls Fan.
Watching the Bulls play the way they did the past two games was a little like traveling back in time to the Tom Thibodeau era. Thibodeau the previous Bull’s head coach and his players thrived off being the underdogs. They loved rising to the challenge that came with playing short-handed which was usually without Rose. They loved proving everybody wrong when the odds were stacked against them. Fred Hoiberg, Bulls current head coach, respected that aspect of the Bulls.
“I thought we really competed,” Hoiberg said. “We battled, battled them the whole game. They made a couple big plays down the stretch. We couldn’t get it back on the other end. But if we battle like that, we’re going to win a lot of basketball games this year.”
The league’s last undefeated team ran its franchise-record home winning streak to 26 games by beating a Chicago team that is the last to win at Oracle Arena during the regular season, way back in late January.
It’ll be interesting to see what else the Bulls and the Warriors have in store as they each take on new teams in their conference respectively. Stay tuned for more Bull’s analysis.
