Warriors are still the team to beat in Western Conference

After their dominant victory over the Denver Nuggets, the Golden State Warriors have proven that they are still the team to beat in the Western Conference.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The Golden State Warriors look poised to once again stake their claim at the top of the Western Conference after their 116-102 dismantling of the Denver Nuggets in Tuesday night’s primetime matchup. If the standings hold up, this will mark the fourth time in the past five seasons that the Warriors have finished atop the Western Conference with the lone exception of last season.

While this Warriors team may not be quite as dominant as years past, they’re playing some of their best basketball of the season right now as they continue to build up momentum for the postseason. Tuesday’s game against Denver is only further proof of that.

The Warriors notched their 32nd double-digit win of the season, trailing only the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks for most victories by that margin.

DeMarcus Cousins continued his recent stretch of excellent performances finishing with a season-high 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. Perhaps even more impressive was his defensive effort against Nuggets star center, Nikola Jokic, who was shut down all game long.

Jokic was never able to get anything going and he finished with just 10 points — shooting just 4-of-10 from the field — in 28 minutes. Cousins’ offensive prowess has been on display lately as he has his jump-shot working well on top of his post game, but his defensive showing may have been even more significant in this one.

If Cousins could continue to play at this level come the playoffs, the Warriors will be in excellent shape on both sides of the ball.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

It wasn’t just Cousins that showed out, however. Kevin Durant was well on his way to having a fantastic night with 17 points and six assists at the half before he was ejected from the game soon after the start of the second half.

Still, Durant’s play was enough to put the team up big early on and the Warriors never looked back from there. Golden State took a 59-43 lead into the half and their lead only continued to grow as the night went on.

In reality, the trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green were mostly afterthoughts in the game, although the latter made sure to flash some of his defensive prowess as he so often does. Curry and Thompson, on the other hand, combined for a total of 30 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

While the Warriors haven’t officially clinched the top seed in the Western Conference with their victory, they now hold all the cards and will, in all likelihood, shore up the top spot before long. Given how the team has been playing as of late — minus a frustrating loss in Minnesota — there’s plenty of reasons for optimism.

And it looks like the team will once again enter the postseason as the odds-on favorites in the Western Conference. The Nuggets are a good team and they have surprised a lot of people this year, but some things just never change.

And the Warriors being the best team in the Western Conference is one of them.