NBA scores 2014: Warriors come back against Heat & 3 other things we learned

On Tuesday, Golden State kept rolling while the Nuggets also extended a winning streak of their own.

Nov 26, 2014, 1:00 PM UTC

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

For a moment in the second quarter, the Golden State Warriors looked out of it on Tuesday night when the Miami Heat stretched their lead to 16 points with 5:57 left in the half. Even the best teams have games where the energy and execution just isn't quite there, and it would have made sense if Golden State was hitting one of those walls. They had won five games in a row and were playing a high-powered offense on the opposite coast in the second of a five-game road trip. It happens.

And from that moment on, the Warriors outscored the Heat, 76-43, for a convincing double-digit victory while Stephen Curry piled on 30 of his 40 points in that same time frame. So much for being out of it.

That’s why the Warriors, now 11-2, are so scary this season -- with the No. 2 defense and No. 6 offense in the league, they’re never out of it. To go from 16 down to trailing by one at halftime, the Warriors’ offense put up 23 points in fewer than six minutes. To pull away from Miami in the fourth quarter, they shut the Heat down by allowing only 11 points.

Curry was unbelievable, raining down eight 3-pointers while ramping up the difficulty on each attempt throughout the night. He’s the seventh player to score 40 points this season, and added seven assists, three steals and only two turnovers Tuesday.

The Warriors are also the first team to have two 40-point scorers this season, since Klay Thompson hit 41 in the season opener. In another fantastic performance on Tuesday, Thompson put up 22 points on 10-19 shooting and three assists. These type of performances are the new baseline for the 24-year-old guard, who's taken an important step forward for the team that's currently sitting a half game back of Memphis for the no. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Golden State has the deadliest shooting duo in the NBA but also a true post presence on offense. They have outside defenders and rim protectors on defense. While the Warriors are no super team, they have as complete of a basketball package as anyone in the league.

Three other things we learned

1. Brow vs. Boogie forever. Last Wednesday, we witnessed our first Anthony Davis vs. DeMarcus Cousins matchup of the season and immediately fell in love. It was Davis who racked up 28 points on that night to pick up a big road win against Cousins.

On Tuesday, Boogie returned the favor and beat the Brow on his home floor. Cousins picked up his customary double-double -- his 11th in 14 games -- with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Davis was quiet with 14 points and 4-of-12 shooting, something that’s becoming more abnormal in his game. But all I know is that I want to watch these two play each other forever, especially because of plays like this.

2. Derrick Rose left the game injured again. Nearly everyone is rooting for Derrick Rose's return to go smoothly, but sadly the 2011 MVP has only managed to play in five of 13 Chicago Bulls games this year and is once again dealing with hamstring issues. Even in those five games, we've seen electric moments of the explosive athlete that wowed us all a few years ago. While we all wish the best for his well-being, this is also a reminder to enjoy him playing basketball while you can, because he may not be around forever.

3. Maybe the Denver Nuggets can get back on track. Denver has won five straight and suddenly, everybody's trendy sleeper pick in the Western Conference is looking a little bit better at 7-7. In Tuesday's 114-109 win over the Bulls, the Nuggets shot 50.6 percent from the field and saw Danilo Gallinari register an encouraging 5-of-9 shooting for 15 points. Gallinari, a really fun player two years ago before some major injuries, is hopefully starting to return to form. This pass and this shot (even though he ruled was out of bounds on review) looks much more like the old Danilo.

Play of the Night

Steph Curry is now in his sixth NBA season and we’ve reached the point where sometimes we don’t appreciate the ridiculous things he does because he does them so frequently. I could have picked any of his 3-pointers, but this is his eighth and final one, so it seems most appropriate.

How does he step back that quickly? How does Shabazz Napier not fall over? How does Curry already know it's going in when it's not even halfway to the basket? How does it not even touch a millimeter of the rim? Never leave us, Stephen.