The Warriors closed out an undefeated homestand with a 117-92 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. Stephen Curry was sensational, scoring a game-high 28 points in just three quarters of play, including six three-pointers. Klay Thompson added 21 points, while Andre Iguodala chipped in 15 points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench. With the win, Golden State improves to 55-14 on the season.
GAME LEADERS
For the second consecutive game, Stephen Curry was able to sit out the entire fourth quarter while his team finished off a blowout victory. But rather than lead from wire to wire as they did against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, Golden State was forced to battle their way back after digging themselves an early hole on Saturday night.
Milwaukee came streaking out of the gate, racing out to a 10-3 lead on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dunk just over three minutes into the contest. They’d continue their early surge and take their largest lead of the entire game on Greg Monroe’s layup at the 5:39 mark of the first quarter, which put the Bucks in front 23-9. From there, however, the Warriors would begin to fight their way back, and would make it a single possession game at the conclusion of the frame. After Monroe scored again just over a minute later, Golden State closed the quarter on a 13-2 run, climbing within 29-27 on Curry’s three-pointer just before the buzzer.
That burst to close the opening quarter proved to be a sign of things to come for the Warriors, as they’d eclipse Milwaukee in the second frame and run away with the game from that point on. Whereas the Bucks couldn’t miss at the start of the first quarter, it was the Warriors’ turn in the second, as they put together arguably their best shooting quarter thus far of the 2016-17 campaign. Klay Thompson got Golden State rolling, knocking down a jumper and a three-pointer in the opening minute to put the Dubs in front, and his jumper at the 7:16 mark would give the Warriors the lead for good. Golden State would close the quarter on a 17-4 run, a stretch ignited by back-to-back three-pointers from Matt Barnes, and hold a commanding 63-44 advantage going into halftime. In total, the Warriors shot 82.4 percent from the field (14-of-17) in the second quarter, their season-high field goal percentage for any quarter this season.
Once Golden State got rolling, they couldn’t be stopped. Andre Iguodala sank a jumper just under two minutes into the second half to put the Warriors in front 67-46, and they’d lead by no less than 21 points for the remainder of the contest. Following a three-point play by Patrick McCaw, Curry converted another three-pointer at the 7:35 mark to give Golden State their largest lead of the entire night at 76-49. His two free throws with four seconds remaining would close out the scoring in the quarter and hand the Dubs a 94-70 advantage heading into the fourth and final frame, of which he needed not participate.
Thompson, who had only nine points entering the fourth quarter, led all scorers with 12 points in the final frame before being pulled for the final 4:05. The Warriors’ commanding lead permitted Steve Kerr to employ his reserves and allow them to finish out the eventual runaway victory.
With the win, Golden State completed an undefeated homestand and earned their 55th victory of the season, tied for the fourth-most single-season wins in franchise history. They’ll now head out on the road for a back-to-back set, beginning with a matchup against the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Monday.