The Golden State Warriors overpowers the Memphis Grizzlies to a 125-104 win to rewrite NBA history with a record 73 wins in the span of a regular season.
As the West Coast team surpassed the previous record of 72 set by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in 1995-96, Stephen Curry also hits a new high by becoming the first NBA player to net more 400 three-pointers in a season as he improved to 402.
It is that much more impressive when you remember that the previous record of 286 was set by Curry himself.
“We love winning,” Curry said. “We love to compete and to push ourselves, and that’s what pushed us to the opportunity we had tonight, and hopefully we’ll continue this weekend when we get the playoffs started.”
The reigning MVP finished with 46 points with ten 3-pointers, in front of a delirious sellout crowd of 19,596 at the Oracle Arena.
Not a single seat was empty as the Warriors surpassed the Bulls’ mark in the history books, a record previously thought to be unbreakable. It was far from the NBA norm too; typically by the 82nd game of the regular season, post-season seed would have been set and the regulars are rested for the playoffs.
Even fans and supporters would be lackluster if they even show up at all.
But the atmosphere that night was far from it. The arena was filled with blue and gold colors as every home fan screamed their lungs out to cheer for their team and also for each of Curry’s 10 3-pointers.
“It’s a great way to finish off what was an amazing regular season,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who happened to be a reserve guard on that Bulls team.
“I just told our guys I never in a million years would have guessed that that record would ever be broken. I thought it was like [Joe] DiMaggio’s hit streak.”
Even without the 73rd win the Warriors were still magnificent in every way this season. They started the season with a 24-game win streak, and cut short the Spurs’ streak of being undefeated at home, beating them for the first time there since 1997.