Warriors closing in on record for hot starts, but it won’t be easy

OAKLAND - The NBA record for best start by a defending champion is 14-0, set by the Boston Celtics in 1957.

The Warriors are 11-0 and, if they can get through this week, can break the record next Sunday in Denver.

But getting through the week won’t be easy, because this is the week:

Tonight at home against Toronto (7-4).

Thursday night in Los Angeles against the Clippers, who are 5-1 at home and always bring their angry best for the Warriors.

Friday night at home, the back end of a back-to-back, with travel, against the Chicago Bulls, one of only two teams to win at Oracle in the regular season last year.

On the plus side, the Warriors will be focused after having narrowly escaped a loss Saturday night against the lowly Brooklyn Nets.

“We know we’re not invincible if we don’t come ready to play,” Stephen Curry said after the 107-99 overtime victory. “I think we came ready to play (against Brooklyn), but if we don’t play our best and execute and bring effort on the defensive end, there are nights stuff like this could happen and it could not go our way down the stretch and we’ll end up with a loss.”

It’s not known if Klay Thompson will play against Toronto, because of back problems. Thompson did not play against Brooklyn, and surely it was a factor in the Warriors’ needing overtime to beat a team that came in 1-8.

But it was not the only factor. The Warriors allowed 68 percent shooting in the first quarter to trail by 15.

“Defensively, we did not compete and they were able to pretty much get their whole team in a rhythm,” interim coach Luke Walton said. “When you make it that easy, the rest of the game everybody feels good. They’re comfortable, they’re confident. That’s definitely a teaching point for us.”

The Warriors stepped it up defensively after the first quarter, holding the Nets to 32.8 percent the rest of the way. In the fourth quarter and overtime, the Nets made just 6 of 27 attempts (22.2 percent).

In the middle of it all, as usual, was Draymond Green. After allowing 20 first-half points to Brooklyn forward Thaddeus Young, Green rose to the challenge and limited Young to just six points the rest of the way.

“The great thing about Draymond is all you have to do is challenge him and he’ll step up,” Walton said. “When we asked him if we should start doubling Thaddeus, he didn’t like that very much. He played like Draymond in the second half.”

The real tone-setter defensively, though, was Andrew Bogut. He had by far his best game of the season with 10 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals. It could be that Bogut won back his starting job with the performance.

“Bogut was awesome,” Walton said. “We ended up playing him pretty much the whole second half. He was vocal on defense, he was challenging shots, he was protecting the paint and had 18 rebounds. Bogie was the leader at that end of the court pretty much the whole night.”

If the Warriors get to 15-0, they not only will break the record for best start by a defending champ, but they also will tie the NBA record for best start by any team. The 1948-49 Washington Capitols and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets both started 15-0.

The Warriors have won 14 games in a row, dating to last season. The franchise record is 16, set last season.

Dating to the beginning of last season, the Warriors are 47-0 when holding opponents under 100 points.

When the Warriors held the Nets to just two points in the five-minute overtime, they tied a franchise record in the shot clock era for fewest points allowed in an OT. The last time they accomplished it was in 1977 against the Kansas City Kings.