Offense on display in blowout
In the waning seconds of the first half Saturday night, Stephen Curry dribbled to the edge of the Warriors’ midcourt logo and launched a 33-foot shot. The reigning two-time NBA MVP crouched low for dramatic effect, watching the swish of the net, before he twirled around in celebration.
It was the exclamation point to a riveting second quarter, one that reinforced just how torrid Golden State’s offense can still be without Kevin Durant. Curry and Klay Thompson returned to their Splash-Brother ways as they powered the Warriors to a 117-92 win over the Bucks.
Golden State’s third straight victory gave them a 2½-game cushion over San Antonio for the Western Conference’s top seed. On the
eve of their departure for a back-to-back set in Oklahoma City and Dallas, Curry (28 points) and Thompson (21) needed only a combined 29 shots to account for 42 percent of their team’s offense.
Andre Iguodala chipped in 15 points off the bench, and Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. The Warriors finished a blistering 60 percent from the field, including 12-for-23 from three-point range.
“All you need is to just go outside since we’ve been back,” Thompson said, referencing the recent rash of sunny weather. “It’s just so good being home.”
It took a while for Golden State to return to its explosive ways after Durant endured a left knee injury Feb. 28 in Washington. In their first six games without Durant, the Warriors averaged 98.6 points on 42.9 percent shooting (31.7 percent from three-point range). Their three games with fewer than 100 points in that span surpassed the two they had totaled in their previous 59 games.
After weathering an eightcity, 13-day odyssey that spanned 13,000 miles, Golden State has regained its offensive dynamism in front of friendly Oracle Arena crowds. It built on a dominant fourth quarter in Tuesday’s 106-104 win over the 76ers with a 122-point outburst in Thursday’s rout of the Magic.
“Getting through last week, we knew that was going to be a tough stretch,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “We feel like we’ve pushed through, and our guys look fresher.”
Saturday night, after digging an early 23-9 hole, the Warriors spread the floor, tightened up defensively and used a 23-7 run to seize the lead early in the second quarter. With less than five minutes left in the period, Matt Barnes — a former All-America wide receiver at Del Campo High School in Sacramento County — hit a wideopen Green under the basket with a one-handed pass. Fans erupted to their feet as Green slammed home the two-handed dunk.
It was only outdone by Curry’s bomb from near midcourt just before halftime.
Moments later, with the Warriors back to their movement-heavy, three-point-happy blueprint, much of the crowd leaned forward in their seats as Curry launched a prayer from behind the logo as the halftime buzzer sounded. That they unleashed a collective groan as ball met back iron reinforced an important reality: Golden State again had its fans believing in the incredible.
In that second quarter, the Warrios had totaled 36 points on 14-for-17 shooting from the field (5-for-6 from three-point range). As for a Bucks team that entered Saturday ranked 10th in the league in offensive rating? It needed 21 shots to only muster 15 points in the quarter.
Those decisive 12 minutes gave the Warriors a 19-point lead at intermission. By the time Curry netted a three to put Golden State up 76-49 midway through the third quarter, Milwaukee — fresh off an emotional win over the Lakers Friday — had effectively squandered any hope of a big road victory.
“Once we buckled down, got stops, actively rebounded the basketball and got loose balls, we were off to the races,” said Green, who helped hold All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to nine points on 4-for-14 shooting. “The entire game changed, and we never looked back.”
It was a night in which Golden State continued to exorcise the memory of the grueling road stretch.