- Just win, baby! – (SportsNetwork.com) - Just win, baby!
That was the rallying cry for late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis.
There's another team in Oakland that follows Davis' trademark motto and it's the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have a stellar 16-2 mark thanks to a franchise record 11-game winning streak.
Golden State will put the streak to the test Saturday in Chicago against the Bulls and will play two straight and five of the next six games away from home. The Warriors are 9-1 as the visitor, the best road start in team history, and have won their last six games as the guest.
The Warriors won seven straight road games twice from Dec. 23-Jan. 7 of last season and from Jan. 19-Feb. 11, 1969.
In Thursday's 112-85 beatdown of the New Orleans Pelicans, the Warriors established a record win streak thanks to 23 points from Klay Thompson and 19 points and 11 assists by Stephen Curry. Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green scored 17 and 14 points, respectively, for Golden State, which scored 26 points on 17 Pelicans turnovers and only had nine miscues.
"The defense and the intensity picked up big time," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. "That's a hard team to guard and they had it rolling early in the game ... the second group came in and really changed the game."
Green also had 14 rebounds and Barnes pulled down 10. Andrew Bogut ended with eight points and 11 boards, and the Warriors recorded a 56-47 advantage on the glass. Golden State put the game away by posting a 32-19 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter.
Golden State leads the NBA with 11 double-digit wins this season and is 12-0 when holding opponents below 100 points. It has scored 100 or more points nine times during the 11-game winning streak and has held opponents to under 50 percent shooting in every game this season.
The Bulls will play three in a row at home versus Golden State, Brooklyn and Portland, and are 2-4 at the United Center as opposed to a 10-3 road mark.
Chicago has won three of its last four games to improve to 12-7 atop the Central standings and recorded a 102-95 triumph in Charlotte on Wednesday. Pau Gasol had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose both scored 15 points and Joakim Noah added 14 and 10 rebounds.
"It was a gut check, and I'm proud of the guys for hanging in there and getting this one," said Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, who sank two 3-pointers in the final minutes to fend off the pesky Hornets.
Bulls rookie Doug McDermott sat out a second straight night with a sore right knee and is questionable Saturday.
The Bulls and Warriors split a pair of meetings last season with each team winning on the home floor. Golden State has lost five straight and 11 of its last 12 trips to the Windy City.
Chicago will visit Oracle Arena on Jan. 27.