Warriors take bumpy road to perfection

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From the 24-0 record to start their 2015-16 season and the 73 wins that ended it, to the 16-1 postseason last June, the Warriors are making a habit of tearing pages from the record books.

Why let the absence of Stephen Curry stand in the way of them putting yet another historical mark on their checklist?

Kevin Durant, filling much of void left while Curry is on the sideline, and Draymond Green, shaking off a tender shoulder, were not about to squander such a special opportunity.

With Curry watching from home Friday night, the Warriors completed the first perfect six-game road trip in franchise history with a 102-98 vanquishing of the Pistons in Detroit.

In so doing the Warriors became the 11th NBA team to accomplish such a feat and the first since 2008-09, when Kobe Bryant and the Lakers did it (Jan. 30-Feb. 8, 2009) on their way to an NBA championship.

“A great finish to just an amazing trip,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr tells reporters in Detroit. “The last two games without Steph and, obviously, tonight against a team that’s given us some problems and beat us a few weeks ago...so (I’m) thrilled with the effort. And now we get to go home and we’re all very happy about that.”

There were many obstacles, yet the Warriors managed to overcome all of them.

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The trip begins Nov. 29 in Los Angeles against the Lakers. With Durant returning after missing a week with a sprained left ankle and coming off a stunning home loss to Sacramento, the teams go into overtime, where Curry, nursing a bruise on his shooting hand, drags the Warriors to victory.

Two nights later, in Orlando, with Curry’s hand still aching and Andre Iguodala out with knee soreness, the Warriors submit a strong performance, ringing up 46 assists and shooting a season-high 62.5 percent to win by 21. Durant, however, is ejected in the fourth quarter.

Two nights later, in Miami, with Iguodala still unavailable and Shaun Livingston getting tossed in the second quarter, the Warriors roll to a 123-95 rout of the Heat.

The very next night, Monday in New Orleans, with Livingston serving a suspension and Zaza Pachulia out with a sore shoulder, the Warriors hang 36 assists on the Pelicans in a 125-115 win. For the second time in three games, Durant is tossed.

It’s bad enough that Pat McCaw, who started a week earlier against the Kings, sustains a concussion and bruise to his nose. What’s worse is Curry sustaining a fairly severe sprain of his right ankle. It’s the last thing the Warriors wanted to see. They quickly realize Curry would be out of the lineup for several weeks.

Yet his injury is, in a way, a blessing for a team that needs something to aid its focus. No one needs this more than Durant.

“I feel like we’re always focused, but it’s just a different style that we have to play,” Durant says after the win in Detroit. “Obviously not having Steph, the way he shoots the 3, the way he penetrates the way he creates for everybody on the floor, not having him on the floor is a little different and we definitely miss him.

“But we have to figure out ways to score the ball and find the open man. Defensively is also where we stepped it up a notch. We’re always a focused group, but we’re just trying to put our focus into different areas and different ways to play the game.”

Durant figures it out two days earlier, on Wednesday in Charlotte,

With Iguodala and Pachulia returning but Curry’s foot in a walking boot, McCaw in concussion protocol and Green out with a sore shoulder, Durant comes out on fire, posting his second triple-double: 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. The Warriors hold the Hornets to 35.1-percent shooting and win by 14.

Pachulia lasts five minutes before aggravating his shoulder and exiting.

But the Warriors have now won five in a row, with Iguodala and Curry and Green and Livingston and Pachulia and McCaw all missing at least one game -- and Durant getting thrown out of two.

The last game of the trip is the most daunting. It’s in Detroit, against the Pistons, who beat the Warriors on Oct. 29 in Oakland and appear destined for the playoffs. Green returns. Curry, Pachulia and McCaw do not.

No matter. Durant becomes the first Warrior with 35 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks since blocks became an official statistic in 1973. Warriors win. History is made.

“Usually over a three-game road trip, the last game we’re a little sluggish and ready to get home,” Durant says. “We’ve been on the road for so long, and guys are ready to get home. I liked our focus level to start the game, for 48 minutes we were focused. We had a little slippage at the end, but it’s an erratic game and stuff like that can happen.

“We have to give (the Pistons) credit for staying in it,” he adds, “but I think our focus level was the main thing throughout this whole trip, especially with so much that went on. Just proud of the effort that we gave from the coaches all the way down to the players.”

Perfection in the face of competitive adversity speaks to the resiliency of this team. It does some of its best work at the toughest times. That’s how history happens.

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