Warriors ‘still looking big picture' after short celebration

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OAKLAND – The Streak continues, only now without the historical backdrop.

After their 111-77 blasting of the Lakers on Tuesday, the Warriors are the first team ever to start a season with 16 consecutive wins.

After two days sharing the old record with the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets, the defending champs walked out of Oracle Arena sharing this milestone with no one but each other.

[RECAP: Instant Replay: Warriors first in NBA history to start 16-0]

“It’s a very special night,” Klay Thompson said.

“It’s amazing,” Draymond Green said. “It’s a group that plays for each other. To set this record together is amazing.”

There was a celebration of sorts, but not much more than for any other victory in which they played well. And play well they did, shooting 48.9 percent while holding Los Angeles to 37.8 percent and tying a season-low eight turnovers.

The coaches congratulated the players, and the players appreciated each other. Standard stuff for perhaps the tightest team in the NBA.

“What they did, they are now in the history books,” interim coach Luke Walton said. “We also reminded them that it’s November and we have a lot more work to do.

“This turned into a mini-goal a couple games ago and we accomplished it and now we have to make sure we don’t drop off and give away a game just because we broke this record.”

The Warriors not only set a record for consecutive wins to start a season but also tied the franchise record for consecutive wins in a single season. Dating back to last season, the Warriors have won 20 regular-season games in a row – the sixth team to put together such a run.

And yet, there were no fireworks or even wild outbursts of joy. It’s as if winning is becoming the rule in a place where it once was the exception.

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“There is no championship hangover for us,” Steph Curry said. “We’re trying to get better and we’re focused. We’re staying in the moment, so we feel like if we come to play every night, we should be in good shape.

“We know there are 66 games left, but we have taken care of every objective so far and we have to keep that going.”

General manager Bob Myers is in lockstep with his interim coach and the team.

“We’re still looking big picture,” he said. “Even though this is maybe a present moment, we’re still focused on the macro issues. I don’t know that we’re doing anything only for The Streak. We shouldn’t be.”

Myers had wandered into the postgame locker room holding a cup of liquid. Champagne? No. Not even beer.

Water.

Some kind of celebration, eh?

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