With super teams left and right being formed heading into the 2017-2018 season, most people have predicted that it will be harder for the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors to dominate the league or at the very least, the Western Conference- something they have been doing during the past 3 seasons, to say the least. Sure, they were already countable times this season where the Warriors have been playing lost but most of the time, they were dominating. Most of the time, they are winning regardless of who Steve Kerr sends out on the floor.

Kevin Durant was out. Steph Curry fouled out. The Brooklyn Nets scored 42 and 27 in the 3rd and 4th quarter respectively and yet, none of those things mattered as the Warriors held on to beat the Nets, 118-111.

What happened? Check the numbers below:

With Kevin Durant not in uniform, Steph Curry carried most of the scoring load for the Warriors. He set two new season-highs with 39 points and 11 rebounds plus dishing out 7 assists.  He made 14 of 24 field goals including 4 of 10 from three. Aside from that, the Chef also had 3 steals, 7 turnovers and yes, 6 fouls. The latter two didn't matter after all as long as you get the big W, right?

The Warriors won the game by making most of their scoring opportunities. As simple as that. As a team, GSW made 46 of 90 shots- good for 51% field goal shooting. They were even better than the Nets from three- making 10 of 24 attempts from rainbow country. Sure, the Nets made more threes than the Warriors but it all boiled down to making the shots that mattered, right?

The Nets were awarded 39 free throws which were a far cry from the Warriors' 23. Now, out of those 39 attempts, Brooklyn only made 27.  Imagine the possibilities had the Nets made more of those freebies. Given how close the final score was, making more free throws would have allowed the Nets to pull out an upset win. Yes, they were able to fish 27 fouls from the Warriors and yet, they missed a big chunk of their free throws. 

Wins like this can prove one thing: the Warriors are a dangerous team no matter who is out. They won an NBA championship before Kevin Durant Joined and won another after Durant joined the team. Despite the fact that the rest of the West have been reloaded, Golden State will still find ways to win, to dominate, one way or another.