Key Takeaways from Golden State Warriors' Win over Indiana

On Tuesday night, the Golden State Warriors traveled to Indiana to take on one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, the Pacers. Yet after one quarter, it seemed like these two teams didn't even belong on the same court, as the Warriors took a 44-28 lead after just 12 minutes.

For the season, the Warriors average a league-high 30.9 points in the opening quarter, according to Team Rankings, but they went above and beyond against the Pacers on Tuesday. After Indiana had taken a 21-15 lead over Steph Curry's crew, Golden State responded with a 22-0 run that took the life out of Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Golden State was able to cruise for a majority of the night, ultimately earning its 23rd consecutive victory to open the season by a score of 131-123.

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It was actually Curry's backcourt mate, Klay Thompson, who led the offense Tuesday, shooting 13-of-21 from the field for 39 points. On what can be considered an "off night" for Steph Curry, who was just 3-of-11 from three-point range, the league's leading scorer still found a way to score 29 points and record 10 assists.

"That’s why they’re 23-0," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said to NBA.com after the loss. "They’re terrific in a lot of areas with just a flammable offense."

However, even though Golden State emerged victorious and showcased their high-powered offense, there could be some cause for concern about the Warriors defense down the stretch.

After three quarters, with Golden State leading 111-83, it looked as if the game was all but locked up. But then the Warriors did something they haven't done much this season, they took their foot off the gas and let Indiana close the gap substantially.

The Pacers outscored their high-powered foes 40-20 over the final 12 minutes, which made interim head coach Luke Walton's team a bit more nervous than they would have liked.

"We were thrilled with the way we played for the first three quarters, but we're obviously not happy about giving up 40 points in the fourth," Walton said to NBA.com. 

At the end of the night, the Warriors escaped with an eight-point win, but they discovered some clear holes on the team that need immediate improvement.

"We've got to handle the end of the game better. We had a double-digit lead," Curry said to ESPN.com. "You don't ever want to have to win the game twice or even three times. You want to make things as easy as possible when you have a night like we did for 36 minutes."

One obvious cause for concern would be Golden State's defense, which ranks 16th in the NBA allowing 101.2 points per game. Some of that could be due to what happened on Tuesday night, where the Warriors open up a big lead and cruise to the finish, but it is a troubling statistic regardless.

This of course brings up the concern of trying to outscore opponents on a night-to-night basis. The Warriors have yet to face San Antonio, Oklahoma City or Cleveland, which are all teams with enough star power to match Golden State's potent offense.

How the Warriors are able to deal with the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant and LeBron James will go a long way into showing how effective their defense truly is. 

Golden State also ranks 23rd with 15.6 turnovers per game, a trait often associated with high-powered teams, which has allowed easy transition points for their opponents. Against an aggressive team like Russell Westbrook's Thunder, being careless with the ball could cost them.

The Warriors have now allowed more than 110 points on six occasions, compared to the Spurs who have only allowed one opponent to reach that mark. 

Steph Curry has been lighting up the scoreboard all year long, but it's inevitable he will have some off nights during this season. On nights like those, the offense will struggle to put up 110 points, which means the defense will have to step up eventually.

Counting on your best players to score 30 points a night and hoping to outscore opponents will not be effective every night during an 82-game season, so defense will need to be a point of emphasis going forward.

Despite their defensive struggles, Tuesday marked only the eighth time all season where Golden State won a game by single digits.

"This team can teach you a lot of lessons," Vogel said to Candace Bucker of the Indianapolis Star. "One of the lessons we learned early was when a team scores on you, run it back down at them. And they did that to us and punished us with it."

Every NBA coach is taking note of what all Warriors' opponents have learned from this undefeated bunch as someone searches for a winning formula.

With all eyes on the Los Angeles Lakers' 33-game win streak, it seems apparent that Golden State is content to take things one game at a time, as they work toward another championship.

"You can't really get too far ahead of yourself," Curry said to the AFP (h/t Yahoo Sports) in a November interview. "There's so much that can happen in this league over 82 games. The great teams are the ones that can focus on each individual game."

Golden State does have to finish out an almost two-week road trip with games against Boston and Milwaukee this weekend, but it seems likely the Warriors will still find themselves undefeated when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers come to town on Christmas.

The Warriors have enjoyed every minute of their undefeated stretch to open the season and seem content to embrace their winning streak instead of feeling any pressure with a potential shot at history, as evidenced by their team social-media account:

“It’s fun, man. Winning is fun,” Curry said to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star before Tuesday's game. “If winning becomes a burden, then I think you have some issues.”

For now, the Warriors are perfect, but how they improve some of their deficiencies will ultimately determine if they find themselves with the longest winning streak of all time in the NBA.

Golden State has taken the NBA by storm and is putting on the league's best show on a nightly basis. No matter what their opponents have thrown their way, the Warriors have been able to handle it.

How they continue to develop as a team throughout the year will decide if they will bring home their second straight championship.

But for now, the Warriors early-season greatness cannot be ignored and should be embraced by all basketball fans.