Due to official league scheduling processes, the Bucks now must wait six days to defeat the Warriors again. In the meantime, some numbers from this win.
1.
Triple-double number one (of presumably many) for Giannis Antetokounmpo. He almost had it by halftime, even. In the end: 11 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists. And speaking of those career-high 10 assists, he set up five teammates on the night.
People say that when Giannis does not get going early in a game, he can fade into the background. Well, he scored zero points in the first quarter, but he won the opening jump ball against Andrew Bogut and set up Parker on the first play of the game. As always, at his best, he is a lot more than points.
31.
The Warriors own the best assist percentage (.678) in the NBA, meaning they assist on more of their field goals than any other team. The Bucks started the night ranked fourth in that regard, and then piled up 31 assists on 44 field goals (.704).
Antetokounmpo (10) led the way, followed up by Monroe (5), Middleton (5), Carter-Williams (5), Henson (2), O’Bryant (2), Parker (1)… and starting point guard Mayo (1). Sometimes it just works.
30.
The Warriors typically put teams away shortly after tip-off. They entered the night as by far the best first quarter team in the league, with a +6.2 per game average margin in the first (which was also by far the best quarter differential of any team in any quarter). But the Bucks jumped to a 12-point lead early, and carried a 30-28 advantage after one. The entire new starting lineup (Mayo/Middleton/Antetokounmpo/Parker/Monroe) jived.
3.
The Bucks not only won the game, they won three out of the four quarters. Teams do not do that to the Warriors. I do not have a stat on that yet, but teams do not do that to the Warriors.
95.
The recently-improved Bucks defense held the Warriors under 100 points for the first time this season. And this marked the second time in the last 56 regular season games that the Warriors were held to 95 points.
6.
How did the Bucks hold the Warriors to 95 points? It sure helped that the greatest three-point shooting team of all-time (statistically very true, they entered tonight 43.2 percent on threes, best ever) made just 6-26 (.231) from deep. After the game, Klay Thompson (who made 2-7 from beyond the arc and just 4-14 overall) said: "We missed shots. They didn't shut us down. No one shuts us down." That is certainly partially true. On a good or even normal day, the Warriors will make more threes.
No matter, three-point defense continues to be integral for the Bucks. When they hold opponents to six threes or fewer, they are 8-0. When they don’t, they are 2-15.
+22.
While presumptive Sixth Man of the Year (and reigning Finals MVP) Andre Iguodala scored just two points (he contributed in other ways, to be fair), Michael Carter-Williams came off the bench and chipped in 17 points, five assists and five steals. And this was not just those counting numbers. This was efficient (7-10 from the field). This was Carter-Williams under control (one turnover in 30 minutes).
Hard to believe before the game, but not hard to believe that the Bucks outscored the Warriors by 22 points while he was on the court.
11.
Greg Monroe delivered the best performance (28 points, 11 rebounds, five assists) of his Bucks career thus far, and saved the best for last. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, most of them on Draymond Green, who was playing small-ball center down the stretch. That was after Monroe gave it to Andrew Bogut in the first half. Pretty swell performance, going against two of the best defensive players the league has seen in the last dozen years or so.
24.
Says here that every time the Bucks have ended a 12-game (or longer) winning streak, the losing team has gone on to win the championship. And this is now the sixth time.
18,717.
People! Lots of people.