46–4: One game from a record

Steph Curry’s brilliance down the stretch after a Thunder comeback has the Golden State Warriors one game from history. They are now 46–4 and tied with the 1966–67 Phildalephia 76ers for the best record in NBA history through 50 games. Since those Sixers went on a rough patch that began by losing game 51 to the Celtics, Golden State would be in sole possession of the record for best start in history at 47–4 with a win Tuesday night hosting the Rockets.

Saturday’s victory was the Warriors’ first of three games against Oklahoma City. The schedule makers condensed all three of Golden State’s matchups against the Thunder into less than 30 days with the teams facing off twice in less than a week centered around March 1st. The Warriors only have 5 games remaining against what would be expected to be their three toughest opponents: San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Cleveland. With just 4 losses to date, the key to reaching 72–10 and beyond will be remaining focused against the weaker teams. The Warriors have enough wins banked that they could lose all their remaining games against their toughest opponents and would still finish 73–9 by sweeping the rest of the league.

Meanwhile, San Antonio keeps rolling along. At 43–8 they are still on pace for one the best regular seasons in history. Their misfortune is that they’re playing so well in the same season as the Warriors. We’ve never seen a season with two teams putting up a record anywhere close to what the Spurs and Warriors are doing this year.