Warriors pulverize Raptors with offensive onslaught in 1st quarter
The two most prolific offenses in the NBA squared off at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night, yet, after the first 12 minutes of action, only one of the two provided anything of consequence in what wound up being a thorough one-sided thrashing.
The Golden State Warriors put their foot on the gas early and didn't let up against the visiting Toronto Raptors, outscoring their neighbors to the north 42-17 in the opening quarter on a scorching 72 percent shooting.
The 25-point deficit was the largest in franchise history for Toronto at the end of a first quarter.
It was a collective effort on the part of the stacked Warriors' roster, with the Big 4 of Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry combining for 32 of those points, including all six of the team's makes from 3-point range on nine attempts.
The Raptors entered as the only team in the Association scoring more efficiently than Golden State, and none of that mattered in the first, as the team knocked down a putrid 19.2 percent of its field-goal attempts.
While the Raptors cut the deficit to two possessions in both the second and fourth quarters, the Warriors held on for a 121-111 victory, improving to 62-9 against Eastern Conference opponents dating back to the 2014-15 campaign, and handing Toronto its first double-digit loss of the season.