The Golden State Warriors suffered their first loss of the 2015-16 season on Saturday, falling to a spirited young Milwaukee Bucks team on the road, 108-95. Golden State's 24-game winning streak to start the campaign is still an NBA record with room to spare, nine games clear of the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and the 1948-49 Washington Capitals' 15-0 starts.
Golden State also wrapped up a 28-game overall regular season win streak -- the second-best stretch in NBA history (1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, 33).
What's next for the team with the focus now off their march into the record books? Find out in this week's edition of the Warriors Notebook.
The Week That Was
Saturday's loss to Milwaukee is the headliner of the past seven days, but that's a shame considering just how resilient the Warriors were for the first six games of their seven-game road trip. Away from home for seven days heading into this week, Golden State weathered illness (Leandro Barbosa) and injury (Klay Thompson, ankle) to win games four through six of the trip -- beating the Brooklyn Nets (114-98), Indiana Pacers (131-123), and Boston Celtics (124-119).
The victory over the Celtics was the biggest gut check of all. With Klay Thompson sidelined by an ankle injury suffered in the last minutes off the team's triumph in Indiana, the shorthanded Warriors overcame his absence and the worst shooting night of the season for Stephen Curry to edge the Celtics in double overtime. Curry did score 38, but he took 27 shots from the field to do so, making nine.
However, Draymond Green had the 2014-15 NBA MVP's back and then some. In fifty minutes played, Green scored 24 points with 11 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and five blocks. He's only the third player in NBA history to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and five steals in a single game.
Game seven of the road trip is the one that'll go down in the history books, but its Golden State's resilience before Saturday which makes the defeat easier to swallow.
The Week Ahead
With the streak out of sight and out of mind, Golden State has three much-needed days of rest before opening a five-game homestand against the Phoenix Suns. The Suns have lost five of seven, running into a wall after a promising start to the season. Phoenix's defense has been porous for most of the year, with the Suns ranking 25th in the NBA with 105.2 points surrendered per game.
Two days later, the Dubs will get a chance to avenge Saturday's streak-breaker when the Bucks visit for a Friday night showdown. A poor shooting team for most of the year, Milwaukee changed course in a big way against the Dubs this weekend -- shooting 49.4% from the field and 42.9% from downtown. For Golden State to exact revenge, they'll need to find a way to contain Bucks center Greg Monroe. Monroe punished the Warriors' bigs on Saturday, scoring 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting to go with his 11 rebounds.
After Friday's game, Golden State will have a pre-holiday break of four days before hosting Utah on December 23rd.
Promotions
Golden State hosts Jewish Heritage Night during Wednesday's homestand opener against Phoenix. A commemorative Heritage Night giveaway is included with every special event ticket purchased from the team's official website.
Two days later, it'll be yet another Authentic Fan Friday. All fans in attendance will receive a Klay Thompson Authentic Fan Cheer Card, with those sitting in the Authentic Fan section (212) receiving some extra swag.
You can view all upcoming Oracle Arena/Warriors promotions at this link.
Injuries
Klay Thompson didn't exactly look comfortable in his return from an ankle tweak, hitting just 4-of-14 from the field and coming up short on a handful of jumpers. Three days of rest should do him good, however, and there's no reason to think he won't be in the lineup Wednesday.
Harrison Barnes was once again held out of action on Saturday. Sidelined with an ankle sprain since late November, Barnes' status for Wednesday's homestand opener is still up in the air.
What They're Saying About The Dubs
With streak over, regular season begins for the Warriors (AP)
Every team to have streak busted by Bucks has won NBA title (CSN Bay Area)
A frenzied ride with the Golden State Warriors (ESPN)
Back to the Golden State Warriors Newsfeed