OAKLAND, Calif. _ Still a step from halfcourt, Stephen Curry zipped a right-hand bouncing laser just an inch under the outstretched left arm of a retreating Luol Deng. It skipped off the court perfectly into the hands of a streaking Draymond Green, who snatched the pass and barreled in for a powerful dunk.
It was the Warriors' 26th assist. Not of the entire game. Of the first half. Twenty-six assists on 29 made field goals. More assists than the NBA's 29 other teams average PER GAME, done in 24 dominant minutes, en route to an easy 149-106 blowout of Luke Walton's Los Angeles Lakers, which ended with a franchise-record 47 team assists.
No one could've guessed this kind of assist explosion was coming. But things have been trending in this direction. The Warriors entered the night on an eight-game win streak, having dished out 30 or more assists in all eight games, a streak only matched in the past 26 seasons by last season's Warriors.
To beat their own streak, a franchise record, they needed 30 or more against a tired, shorthanded Lakers team in town on the second night of a back-to-back.
Twenty-two seconds in, they already had assist number 1, a nice slip pass from Green to Zaza Pachulia, who finished with a nifty reverse. Klay Thompson buried an 18-footer moments later, set up by Curry. Then two Curry 3s, set up by Green and Thompson, pushed the early lead to 10-4. The rout was already on. Now it was just about the highlights.
Minutes later, Pachulia perfectly baited Laker rookie Brandon Ingram into an overplay on the wing, as Kevin Durant bolted backdoor. Pachulia delivered an easy pass on the money and Durant sent the team's eighth assist home with a smooth swooping reverse dunk.
Then JaVale McGee entered the game, the first Warriors center off the bench for the second straight game. Within 26 seconds of stepping on the floor, Green had already tossed a lob in his direction. Sometimes the Warriors get overzealous with their lobs to McGee, like a little kid who overuses his new toy.
But this one was on the money, timed well and defended poorly _ a common theme from the Lakers on this night. McGee rose and hammered it through. Assist number 10.
Two minutes later, Curry hit Green on an open dive cut down the lane, drawing two defenders in his direction. Green sensed it immediately and, showing off his incredible vision, caught and tossed another lob without needing a dribble. It flew into the hands of McGee, who again crushed it through for assist number 13 and Green's fifth of the first quarter.
The second quarter played out much like the first. A lot of Warriors points and a lot of Warriors assists. Durant opened the quarter with a nice feed to a cutting David West for an 8-footer. West returned the favor a possession later, lobbing one over the top to Durant, who beat his man backdoor again, for another easy score. Durant crosscourted one to Thompson on the next possession, assists 14, 15 and 16 put down in a flash.
By halftime, capped by that beautiful Curry-to-Green dime, the Warriors had 26. With 7:41 still left in the third quarter, they hit 30, a Curry-to-Thompson swing pass to set up another 3. It was the ninth consecutive 30-plus assist night, a franchise record and most in the NBA since the Hornets in 1989. The Warriors record in 30-plus assists games the past two seasons: 52-2.
But they weren't done. The 37th assist was a fastbreak Durant to Andre Iguodala lob. The 43rd was another McGee lob, this one sent up by Patrick McCaw and hammered through one-handed by the alley-oop master. The 44th may have been the most unlikely _ a McCaw swing pass that set up the first 3-pointer of Kevon Looney's career. Yep, it was that kind of night.
In all, the Warriors finished with an incredible franchise-record 47 assists on 53 made shots. They had 147 points on the final possession. The crowd was begging Ian Clark to take the 3 to make it 150. He didn't. Anderson Varejao got fouled on a layup. They settled for 149.
About the only thing that didn't go right for the Warriors offense on this night.
