Warriors unbeaten, Raptors unhappy

Harrison Barnes (No. 40) of the Golden State Warriors diving to save the ball from going out of bounds, as DeMarre Carroll of the Toronto Raptors looks on. The Warriors won 115-110 at home on Tuesday.
Harrison Barnes (No. 40) of the Golden State Warriors diving to save the ball from going out of bounds, as DeMarre Carroll of the Toronto Raptors looks on. The Warriors won 115-110 at home on Tuesday. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

OAKLAND (California) • The Golden State Warriors were not perfect on Tuesday night.

However, 12 games into the National Basketball Association season, their record remains perfect.

It is a trade-off they will take.

Point guard Stephen Curry scored seven of his game-high 37 points in the final 1:28, helping the Warriors overcome 20 turnovers and a 30-18 deficit at the free-throw line en route to a 115-110 win over the Toronto Raptors.

"We can play better than this," Curry said after the league's lone remaining unbeaten team tied their franchise record for consecutive regular-season wins with 16 dating back to last season.

"We hold ourselves to a high standard. Everybody likes to learn lessons and win."

The hard-fought victory was Golden State's 25th straight at home during the regular season.

The Warriors, who trailed 96-98 with 5:54 to play, were up just 106-103 before Curry buried a 15-footer to create a five-point cushion with 1:28 to go.

Golden State did the rest of their scoring at the foul line, with Curry making five of six and power forward Draymond Green two in a row to keep Toronto at arm's length down the stretch.

"We've got away from playing four solid quarters of basketball," Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said. "We played a great first half. But in the third quarter... we let them get into a rhythm and build some confidence."

The loss was the Raptors' second straight to open a five-game trip.

"Our guys played well enough to win," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "We have something good going. We play like that in any game, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win."

He though that in a game stalled to a snail's pace by 54 foul calls and 66 free throws, a non-call down the stretch doomed his team. It occurred on a driving basket by Toronto shooting guard DeMar DeRozan with 38.7 seconds remaining. The hoop brought the Raptors within 109-108, but Casey was hoping for an extra free-throw opportunity that might have tied the score.

"There's a lot of contact in there," the coach said. "I've got to look at it again."

Four subsequent free throws by the Warriors iced the win.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 19, 2015, with the headline Warriors unbeaten, Raptors unhappy. Subscribe