OAKLAND (California) • Stephen Curry scored 24 points as the Golden State Warriors set a new record for the longest unbeaten start to an National Basketball Association campaign with a 111-77 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

The reigning MVP turned on the style as the Warriors extended their perfect start to 16 games.

That surpassed the previous best of 15-0 they had shared with the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and 1948-49 Washington Capitols.

A sell-out crowd at the Oracle Arena had come to see the NBA champions make history and the outcome never looked in doubt from the outset against a Lakers side who slumped to 2-12 with the loss.

Said Curry: "To start the season 16-0 and do something that's never been done before in NBA history, it's pretty cool.

"We want to keep it going.

"There's a lot of season left but we're on the right track. It's special.

"There's a lot of great players in this league and a lot of great teams - nobody's accomplished what this team has tonight.

"We're proud of this moment. We'll celebrate a little bit and then look ahead to Friday night (against Phoenix Suns)."

At times, the game resembled a training exercise as the Warriors sprinted into a 30-11 first-quarter lead against their outclassed opponents, effectively scoring at will.

Draymond Green scored 12 points in the opening quarter, with Curry and Harrison Barnes chipping in with eight points each.

Green eventually finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.

The Warriors kept a healthy 16-point cushion going in 54-38 at half-time and never looked like being overhauled.

And they made it worse for the Lakers after the break - cutting loose and outscoring the visitors 35-17 to extend their lead to 89-55 heading into the final quarter.

By midway through the final quarter, the Warriors led by more than 40 points with the Lakers barely managing token resistance.

It was a miserable night for veteran Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who has indicated that he could retire at the end of this campaign.

The five-time NBA champion was restricted to four points and made just one shot from 14 attempts to tie the worst shooting night of his 20-year career when he has gone for at least five shots.

"He's struggling right now to make a shot. I think he will be the first to tell you that," noted Lakers coach Byron Scott.

"You can see that he was getting pretty frustrated at himself."

The Warriors' blistering start to the season, however, remains well short of the longest winning streak in history.

It continues to be the 33-game run that was set by the Lakers in the 1971-72 season.

Golden State could threaten the Chicago Bulls' all-time season record, however, when a side led by Michael Jordan finished the 1995-96 campaign with a 72-10 record.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS