Curry scores 41 in win over Bucks
The corners of Steve Kerr’s smile could be seen from behind his facemask as he high-fived players walking off the Chase Center floor after the final buzzer.
Much of the appreciation was directed at Stephen Curry, who scored 41 points to lead the Warriors’ 12-point comeback to beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 122-121, Tuesday night and snap a threegame losing streak.
“We needed to win badly,” Kerr said. “I’m thrilled.”
With Bucks MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo a late scratch with a sore left knee, Golden State found itself with a chance to knock off one of the Eastern Conference’s elite teams and led by three at halftime.
But from the start of the third quarter to the middle of the fourth, the Bucks outscored the Warriors 53-40 and took a double-digit lead. Nearly every time Golden State made a run, Milwaukee answered behind Jrue Holiday’s 29 points and Khris Middleton’s 28.
However, seeing that his team still had a chance to eke out a much-needed win, Curry asked to go back in the game with 8:09 left in the fourth quarter, about two
minutes before he usually checks in. The Warriors scored six straight points in that extra allotment, which helped spur the game’s decisive run. Curry’s jumper with 36.3 seconds left punctuated a 16-3 rally that gave the Warriors a 122-119 lead.
“I just think his body, his mind, everything, it has really peaked this season,” Kerr said of Curry, who went 14-for-21, including 5-for-10 from 3-point range, while being guarded mostly by Holiday, a two-time AllDefensive team selection. “It’s really impressive.”
Then, Holiday’s tip-in with 29 seconds left gave Milwaukee the lead. With the losing streak weighing on the next possession, Curry got trapped by two Milwaukee defenders and passed to Andrew Wiggins (nine points on 4-of15 shooting), who missed an open 3-pointer. The offensive rebound was recovered by Kelly Oubre Jr. (19 points on 6-of-14 shooting and six rebounds), who was fouled on the putback attempt. Oubre made both free throws to put the Warriors up by one with 7.7 seconds remaining.