A November celebration can feel a little awkward. So the Golden State Warriors skipped it.
Instead, they smiled a bit, laughed a bit and congratulated one another in muted tones once they were off the Pepsi Center court.
Because 15-0 deserved at least that.
Golden State matched the best start in NBA history — 15 consecutive wins to start a season — after putting away the Nuggets 118-105 on Sunday night. They had never shied away from saying they wanted the record. Afterward, they weren’t shy about articulating the meaning of it.
“It’s a huge accomplishment,” guard Stephen Curry said. “Obviously, coming off a championship and taking care of business 15 straight times to start the season — couldn’t ask for a better start. Maybe two games ago, it became a real conversation in the locker room. Since we’re here, might as well get it done.”
The Nuggets didn’t want that. Certainly not on their home court.
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“In my mind, I definitely wanted to stop the streak,” Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay said. “Just because I hate records being set on me or any of my teammates.”
But this couldn’t be stopped because, right now, Golden State simply can’t be stopped. The Warriors are just that good.
Still, getting to the brink of history required putting away a Nuggets team that played a better game than the final score indicated. The Nuggets took a lead in the second quarter, had the game within single digits for much of the third, and although the fourth began with them down 12, that margin in no way is an insurmountable lead in the NBA.
Unless, of course, the opponent is Golden State.
The Nuggets have had season-long problem with allowing too many 3-point shots. That, coupled with the team deadliest from behind the arc, was a combustible combination. The Nuggets were outscored 45-12 from beyond the 3-point line as Golden State drained them from deep all night long. Such marksmanship proved the biggest difference in the contest.
“Every single night, we give up 12 to 15 3-point shots,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “It’s tough to make that difference up because we are not a 3-point-shooting team.”
Turnovers were a problem early for the Nuggets, who had more of them at one point (11) than field goals (10). They finished with 20 turnovers, which didn’t sit well with Malone.
Offensively, the Nuggets were potent until the latter stages of the third. That’s when Golden State’s defense tightened, and it turned Nuggets misses into fast-break points. They had 25 in all.
“We did a lot of good things, but against that team, you can’t go offense, offense, offense, offense,” Mudiay said. “You’ve got to get stops. (On offense) we were getting anything we wanted, it’s just we weren’t getting stops. You’ve got to get stops with that team.”
Sunday’s game won’t be remembered for a vintage Curry performance. There simply wasn’t one. The superstar guard scored 19 points and made three 3-pointers, but his makes were more of the timely variety than the knockout blows they normally are.
But none of that mattered in the end. Golden State can break the record by beating the Lakers on Tuesday night in the loudest arena in the NBA: Oracle Arena.
“Since we’re at 15, might as well get 16,” Curry said. “That’s the next step. So, excited about that challenge.”
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or @dempseypost
