NBA Scores 2015: Warriors reinforce position atop the West and 3 other things we learned

The Warriors crushed the Thunder, the Hawks keep beating Western teams on the road, the Bulls are starting to gel and the rest of the action from Monday on the NBA.

by Jeje Gomez

Jan 6, 2015, 2:00 PM UTC

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors are the best team in the league. They have been for most of the season but there was always a sense that things were too good to be true. Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut have been injury-prone throughout their careers, Steve Kerr is a first-time coach and the unresolved situation at the two forward positions seemed like it would become a problem at some point. More than 30 games into the season and following a demolition of the Oklahoma City Thunder, those concerns no longer seem like pressing issues.

The foursome of Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green had outscored opponents by 21.9 points this season heading into the game against the Thunder. The group has continued to perform well even without Bogut. Unsurprisingly, the starters broke the game wide open for Golden State early, creating a double-digit lead with more than eight minutes still on the clock in the first quarter. The starting lineup was great last season as well. What separates this Warriors team from preview iterations is the depth and the cohesiveness they show no matter who is on the court. The Thunder could never make a push because the Warriors always had competent units to hold them off. The result was a 20-point, first-half beatdown the likes of which the Thunder rarely suffer.

There was no budding comeback attempt in the second half. No moment in which one of the most explosive teams in the league threatened to make a game of it thanks to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook heroics. The Warriors responded to every little run with contributions from their stars or their role players. Even deep bench contributor Justin Holiday joined in on the fun, pouring in 12 points. It was as dominant as a performance can get against a complete Thunder team. If it's a preview of a potential first-round matchup, the possibility of an upset seems slim if Golden State keeps rolling like this.

Of course a lot can change in four months, but the Warriors seem to have a strong foundation. Another injury to a core player could derail their season, but that's true for every team. Time is much more precious to the Thunder, who will now try to incorporate Dion Waiters after acquiring him in a trade that sent out Lance Thomas and two draft picks. If everything goes smoothly, Waiters will offer them exactly the type of explosive bench scoring they need to complement Reggie Jackson.

3 other things we learned

The Bulls are built for the playoffs. Some teams are built for the regular season. They rely on offense and depth to get wins against inferior teams. Others are rugged, physical teams that shine their brightest when things get tough in the postseason. The Bulls clearly belong to that second category and their hard-fought win over the Rockets is the latest example. Chicago kept Houston off the free throw line, even if it meant surrendering 62 points in the paint. The Bulls contested close shots remarkably well and held James Harden to just three points on 0-of-9 shooting in the second half. Pau Gasol handled the scoring in the first half and Jimmy Butler took over in the second. This team is a supercharged version of the 2010 Grizzlies and no one will want to face them in the playoffs.

Count out the Hawks at your own risk. The Hawks are the anti-Bulls, a team with no huge star, a shaky defense and an offense highly dependent on outside shots for offense. Yet they keep winning games, even against Western Conference teams on the road. Their victory against the Clippers would have been surprising if not for the fact the Hawks were coming off a win over the Trail Blazers in Portland on Saturday. Coach Mike Budenholzer -- Gregg Popovich's right-hand man for years -- has this team humming on offense, with everyone sharing the ball and looking for open three-pointers. Their lack of rim protection could be a problem come playoff time, but right now the Hawks look as legitimate as any other Eastern team.

The Knicks are officially punting the season. The trade that sent J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cleveland Cavaliers landed the Knicks zero rotation players. They will waive the disappointing Samuel Dalembert and there are reports that they want to shut down Carmelo Anthony for the season.

Carmelo Anthony has been resisting idea of resting that sore knee, but Knicks have been encouraging him to sit, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) enero 6, 2015

It’s the right decision, since there is no way the team can make the playoffs after a terrible start. It’s time to think about the future and the front office is doing just that, trading for draft picks instead of sending them out and looking to open up playing time to develop some young players, all while clearing money off the cap. Time will tell which team benefits the most from the Waiters trade, but it’s obvious even now that the Knicks did the right thing.

Play of the night

This play illustrates both how things went between the Warriors and the Thunder and how far Klay Thompson has come as a player.

Thompson was considered a shooter who couldn’t create off the dribble or finish inside in his first three seasons in the league. This year, however, plays like this one are becoming more common. The post-dunk celebration still needs some work, though.