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Different faces, same result, Warriors remain perfect

By Dave Del Grande, The Sports Xchange

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors looked a little different Saturday night.

But the result remained the same.

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Starting in place of injured small forward Harrison Barnes, Brandon Rush buried three 3-pointers in a third-quarter run-away as the Warriors recorded an 18th straight season-opening win, 120-101, over the rival Sacramento Kings.

Point guard Stephen Curry dropped in three 3-pointers on a 19-point night and power forward Draymond Green recorded the franchise's first back-to-back triple-doubles in 51 years with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, helping Golden State tie the 2007-08 Houston Rockets with a 22nd consecutive regular-season win dating back to last season, the third-longest streak in NBA history.

"It's always nice to get an opportunity to play for this team," gushed Rush, who totaled a season-high 16 points in 19 minutes. "Getting the crowd involved and making the 3s is pretty important to me."

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The last Warriors player to record triple-doubles in consecutive games had been Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain in 1964 until Green, who contributed 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to Friday's 135-116 win at Phoenix, matched the feat.

"Being mentioned in the same category as Wilt, that's pretty cool," Green assured. "But when it comes to triple-doubles, I can't take all the credit."

The Warriors now embark on a seven-game trip, during which they will be in pursuit of the 27-game winning streak compiled by the Miami Heat during the 2012-13 season.

The Los Angeles Lakers hold the all-time record of 33 straight wins, set during the 1971-72 season.

Playing for the second time in two nights, the Warriors fell behind by as many as eight in the first quarter, took a 56-46 lead into halftime, then exploded out of the break with a 16-4 flurry fueled by Rush to break the game open at 72-50 in the fourth minute of the third period.

Rush was starting in place of Barnes, who sprained his left ankle Friday in Phoenix.

"We're thrilled for Brandon," Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said of Rush, who suffered a torn ACL early in the 2012-13 season and has been relegated to reserve duty pretty much every since. "To see him succeed like that, it's a great story."

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The Kings (6-12) were without star center DeMarcus Cousins for a third straight game because of a strained lower back.

Shooting guard Klay Thompson added 15 points, backup big man Marreese Speights had 13 and reserve center Festus Ezeli recorded an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double for the Warriors, who beat the Kings for a 10th consecutive time, the longest streak in the West Coast history of the rivalry.

"I don't know if I've ever seen a better shooting team or a better passing team in my whole career I've been coaching," Kings coach George Karl said of the Warriors. "You give them an opportunity, or we give them a mistake, they usually find it with the pass. Then a lot of times, they find it with the 3-ball."

The Warriors outshot the Kings 48.8 percent to 39.0 and connected on 16 of their 30 3s (53.3 percent) en route to their 28th straight home win. Only 10 teams in NBA history have strung together such a streak.

Forward Rudy Gay led all scorers with 20 points and center Kosta Koufos had 14 for the Kings, who completed a stretch of six road games in seven outings with a 2-5 mark.

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"It's disappointing," Karl assessed of the loss. "But overreacting to this game, (losing) to the team that's 18-0, a team that's beating people by I think an average of 18, and you don't have your best player ... I think that would be an overreaction."

Like Golden State, Sacramento was playing the second half of a back-to-back, having suffered a 101-91 home loss to Minnesota on Friday night.

The Kings fell to 1-7 in games Cousins hasn't played.

Standout point guard Rajon Rondo, who recorded a triple-double when the Kings were competitive in a 103-94 home loss to the Warriors earlier this month, was held to seven points, seven assists and four rebounds.

NOTES: The Warriors have won 85 of their last 100 regular-season games. ... The Warriors have outscored their opponents by a total of 288 points in the season-opening streak, the highest margin ever by an NBA team after 18 games. ... Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said it's possible that SF Harrison Barnes (sprained left ankle) will miss the team's 13-day trip that begins Monday at Utah. Barnes had played in 205 consecutive games (including the playoffs) dating to the 2012-13 season. ... The Warriors will play Utah, Charlotte, Toronto, Brooklyn, Indiana, Boston and Milwaukee on their upcoming trip. ... Kings coach George Karl listed injured C DeMarcus Cousins (strained lower back) as "hopeful" for Monday's home game against Dallas.

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