If the Warriors are in one-step-at-a-time mode as they try to crawl out of this early season hole, they took a notable one on Sunday with their first road victory, improving to 1-8 away from Chase Center with a 127-120 in Houston.
The 0-8 road start to the year was the second-worst mark in franchise history, trailing only the 1989-90 team that lost its first nine games away from home.
Klay Thompson, whose struggles have been well chronicled to begin the season, was in vintage form with 10 3-pointers en route to 41 points. Stephen Curry added 33 points with seven 3s. Do the math, and that’s a combined 17 3-pointers and 74 points from the Splash Brothers.
Throw in Andrew Wiggins’ 22 points on 6-of-11 from 3, and that’s a combined 23 3-pointers for Thompson, Curry and Wiggins, the most by any trio in NBA history, per ESPN Stats.
Per Warriors PR, this marks the sixth time Thompson, who came out on fire with 20 points in the first nine minutes, has made at least 10 3-pointers in a single game — the second-most such outbreaks in NBA history behind Curry’s outlier record of 22.
“It feels amazing. I’m hard on myself, so I’ve been wanting one of these. And to get one and kind of open the floodgates, it’s only up from here. I promise you,” Thompson said in his postgame interview. “I finally feel like myself. My legs feel great. I’m cutting to the rim, taking great shots and I’m just excited for what’s to come. Man, I’m not gonna lie, guys, that felt amazing. Wow. I don’t care if it’s a mid-November game. That felt great.”
Needless to say, the Warriors were on fire from beyond the arc, where they connected at a 51-percent clip as a team. They piled up 38 assists. Curry had 15 by himself. Once Thompson got hot, everyone was looking for him. When the Warriors move the ball like that, they’re awfully tough, if not impossible, to defend.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is a literal historic 3-point shooting outbreak was necessary to barely beat the Rockets, who are tied with the Pistons for the fewest wins (3) in the league. Golden State’s defense has been a doormat all season, and Houston had a relatively easy time finding quality shots with 120 points.
The pace was high, and Golden State, as currently constructed, knows it’s going to have to outscore teams to get wins. But this can’t be a nightly formula. For one night, however, it was great to see the old Warriors — who’ve now won five of their last seven games — splashing triples all over the court.
