SAN FRANCISCO – Three days later the Boston eruptionthe Warriors bounced back well and beat the Milwaukee Bucks 125-90 on Wednesday at Chase Center.
Stephen Curry came out in full force and never really calmed down, scoring 29 points with eight rebounds and five assists, finishing a plus-15.
Jonathan Kuminga also scored 20 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks to help the Warriors (33-28) earn their 14th score.th win in 18 games. Klay Thompson came off the bench and had 10 points and four rebounds. Andrew Wiggins, back after missing four games for personal reasons, had three points.
Golden State retained its spot at 10th in the Western Conference and moved to within a half-game of the idle Dallas Mavericks for 8th place.
The loss ended Milwaukee’s six-game winning streak. The Bucks (41-22) were paced by 23 points from star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Three days after being shut down and held to 88 points in a 52-point loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, the Warriors scored 40 points in the first quarter against the Bucks and had 78 at halftime.
Milwaukee came out strong in the second half and got within six, 83-77, midway through the third quarter before Golden State settled in and pulled away.
Here are the takeaways from Wednesday’s game:
Kuminga goes into beast mode
Kuminga’s development this season has been a major factor in the Warriors’ success, and the young forward was definitely doing his job against the Bucks.
While Curry gained a lot of attention for his early scoring, Kuminga was busy doing his own thing on the offensive end. He repeatedly attacked the rim with his typical ferocity, cutting straight through the Bucks’ defense like a hot knife through butter.
Kuminga felt so comfortable that he made — and made — two 3-pointers in the second quarter. Later in the second half, Kuminga chased down a ball out of bounds and returned it to Thompson for a dunk.
Kuminga didn’t play a big role in the loss to the Celtics, but he was a man on a mission against the Bucks. The Warriors absolutely need to get more of this from the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft in order to make their late-season push for the playoffs.
Crisis of numbers
With the Warriors at full strength for the first time in a long time, it was natural that someone’s playing time would be reduced.
That someone turned out to be Dario Šarić.
Šarić averaged just over 18 minutes per game, but was on the bench for most of the game against the Bucks until coming on late in the fourth quarter. He only logged four minutes of play.
Wiggins scored 13:42 while Trayce Jackson-Davis (15 points and seven rebounds in 18 ½ minutes) and Moses Moody (six points in 20:45) also received extended time out for Golden State.
It was no surprise that Šarić’s minutes were reduced. The veteran forward has scored in double figures just once in the last 16 games he has played and has been something of a liability for the defense.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr will continue to scramble his rotations until the end. He’s had to do this in the past, but due to injuries and lack of production. He will do it now because he finally has a full, healthy roster and has plenty of options.
Holding court at home
Unlike the last game between the two teams in January, where the Warriors led for most of the game before collapsing in the fourth quarter and losing, Golden State withstood an early burst from Antetokounmpo and held on when the Bucks made a strong run in the third. quarter.
It’s Golden State’s fourth straight home win over Milwaukee and eighth in the last 11 games between the two teams at Chase Center.
The Warriors are just 17-15 at home this season, but have had some of their biggest wins in San Francisco. They beat the Los Angeles Clippers, Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers – all legitimate playoff contenders – at Chase Center during the 2023-24 NBA season.
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