too easy pic.twitter.com/FEr1OXUZx5
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 7, 2017
OAKLAND–It took more than two weeks, but the Golden State Warriors finally have their first four-game win streak.
Though Steve Kerr’s squad entered the 2017-2018 regular season as the prohibitive favorites to take home their third title in four seasons, the Warriors have struggled with inconsistent effort, an emerging turnover issue and poor rebounding at various points during the first month of the NBA season.
On Monday evening, Golden State returned home following a three-game road trip to host the Miami Heat, and once again, the Warriors found themselves in early trouble. But even though the Heat are considered a playoff contender and perhaps possess enough talent to make a playoff run in the Eastern Conference, an off night for the Warriors wasn’t enough to keep them from a win.
In fact, it wasn’t even enough to prevent Golden State from securing their fourth straight blowout victory, as they cruised to a 97-80 final.
With a starting lineup featuring four All-Star-caliber players and one of the deepest collection of bench players in the NBA, the Warriors’ margin for error on any given night is massive. Though that margin wasn’t enough to preclude the team from losing three of its first seven games this season, Golden State is now on a tear, having won each of its past four games by at least 17 points.
After stringing together wins over the Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets on their recent road trip, the Warriors kicked off a four-game homestand by shooting just 25 percent in the first quarter against a defensively-stout Heat team. In fact, Golden State had just 13 points inside the two-minute mark in the first quarter, but a late run spurred by the play of rookie center Jordan Bell helped the Warriors finish the quarter on a 7-0 run.
Bell replaced 7-footer JaVale McGee after McGee logged a minus-10 in just three minutes, and the Oregon product brought immediate energy to a Warriors’ defense that played with an edge on Monday night. Bell finished the quarter with a plus-seven, as it was his alley-oop off a pass from Andre Iguodala with 1:33 remaining in the first quarter that helped Golden State start its run.
They not gon’ rook Jordan Bell pic.twitter.com/fSRtuw1Ore
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 7, 2017
Though the Warriors closed the first quarter on an extended run, their offense came to a standstill at the start of the second as Golden State managed just 12 points over the first nine minutes of the quarter. With just three minutes remaining in the first half, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant had combined to shoot just 4-for-20 from the floor, and every Warrior outside of Draymond Green had combined to go 0-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Green, however, was an offensive catalyst for Golden State, knocking down three first half three-pointers to extend his personal hot streak from the perimeter. Green’s third three-pointer of the night, a 26-footer with 2:31 remaining in the first half, helped the Warriors open up a five-point lead, and from that point on, Golden State never looked back.
After closing the first quarter on a 7-0 run, the Warriors finished the first half with a 16-3 spurt to open up a 13-point halftime advantage.
Want a look at an extended run? From the 3:18 mark of the first half to the 9:55 mark in the third quarter, a stretch of just 6:23, Golden State outscored Miami 26-6 to put the game on ice. Even a 10-0 Heat run in the third quarter wasn’t enough to keep the game competitive, as a Thompson three-pointer gave the Warriors a 13-point lead with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter.
Skates pic.twitter.com/4nmHmDjoDX
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 7, 2017
Though it certainly wasn’t the cleanest performance from an offensive standpoint, the Warriors locked horns with one of the more talented teams in the Eastern Conference and turned the game into a non-competitive track meet by the middle of the third quarter. With the win, Golden State improved to 8-3 on the season and moved into a tie for first place with the Rockets atop the Western Conference.
The Warriors return to action on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:30.