Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns: Two Best '21-'22 NBA Teams Meeting Twice in Same Week
The Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns got off to amazing starts to the 2021-2022 NBA season. At the end of November, the Warriors
had an NBA-best 18-2 record and only four
teams in NBA history have had better records after 20 games. The second-best record belonged to the 17-3 Suns, who were just one game behind
the Warriors in the standings. The Warriors and Suns had lost a combined five games and
every other NBA team had lost more than five games.
The Warriors and Suns played each other on November 30. The game was a major professional sports rarity: a game being played between two teams who
had fewer combined losses than every other team in their league! The only other time I can recall that happening was when
the 8-0 New England Patriots faced the 7-0 Indianapolis Colts in Week 9 of the 2007 NFL season
and no other NFL teams were undefeated. There have probably been other instances, I just
can't remember any of them.
In the game, the Suns defeated the Warriors 104-96 to tie them in the standings.
The Warriors lost partly because Stephen Curry had
a career-worst shooting night and scored
just twelve points. The Suns followed up the win with a victory against the Detroit Pistons two days later and moved into sole possession of first-place. It was
their franchise-record eighteenth consecutive victory
and the winning streak was tied for the tenth-longest winning streak in NBA history.
The Suns' historically great winning streak ended in historically bad fashion.
The next day, the Warriors defeated them 118-96 as they avenged their loss earlier in the week and wrestled first-place away from the Suns. Out of
the thirty-three winning streaks in NBA history
that have lasted at least 16 games, the Suns' winning streak was the only one that ended with a defeat larger than 20 points. A big part of the
reason for the blowout (other than the fact they were playing the Warriors) was that Suns star player Devin Booker was unable to play in the game due to a
hamstring injury.