Middleton leads 3-pointer barrage
Hits 6-of-8, scores 31 points, as Bucks drain 20 for game
Khris Middleton scored 31 points and the Milwaukee Bucks routed the Golden State Warriors 138-99 on Friday to win their first Christmas Day home game in more than half a
century.
Middleton went 6-for-8 from 3-point range. Milwaukee was 20-for-37 from beyond the arc, while Golden State was 10-of-45.
The Warriors were outscored by 65 points in their first two games, the second-highest total in NBA history through two games to 71 points for the 1987-88 Clippers. Golden State lost 125-99 at Brooklyn in its season opener.
Milwaukee’s only other Christmas home game came in the franchise’s inaugural season in 1968. The Bucks were on the road for Christmas the last two seasons, losing at Philly in 2019 and winning at New York in 2018.
Bucks players got a Christmas surprise before the game when they received videotaped messages from their families.
Then they went out and delivered a dominant performance to bounce back from a season-opening 122-121 loss at Boston.
Antetokounmpo had 15 points and 13 rebounds against Golden State, but the two-time reigning NBA MVP shot 4-for-15 from the floor and 7-for-15 from the foul line.
Stephen Curry scored 19 points for Golden State, and rookie James Wiseman had 18.
Warriors forward Draymond Green sat out for the second straight game with a sore right foot.
D.J. Augustin scored 13 points in his Bucks debut after sitting out the opener with a strained left calf.
Curry increased his career points total to 16,458, overtaking Rick Barry (16,447) to move into second place on the Warriors’ list. Wilt Chamberlain holds the franchise record after scoring 17,783 points for the Warriors.
Curry was 2-of-10 from 3-point range to give him 2,499 career 3-pointers. The two-time MVP is looking to join Ray Allen (2,973) and Reggie Miller (2,560) as the only NBA players to make at least 2,500 3-pointers.
Curry went 5-of-5 from the line to extend his streak of consecutive successful free-throw attempts to 55. He is chasing Rick Barry ’s franchise record of 60 straight.