This is a continuation of the halftime report of the Golden State Warriors at the Chicago Bulls
3RD QUARTER: Stalemate After A Run By The Bulls
As the saying goes, “You live by the three, you die by the three.” With the Bulls not shooting up bricks anymore, Golden State died a little in the third frame with their missed attempts at lighting the torch.
Things started out fine, with two interior buckets, one by Harrison Barnes after a nice, strong up-fake at the rim, after getting a nice pass from Klay Thompson getting a pass coming off of the run-by of Andrew Bogut. Although Jimmy Butler, who played like an All-Star tonight, answered that, Stephen Curry drove by the vaunted Bulls defense on the right side for a layup.
But then Joakim Noah scored two buckets, and a Pau Gasol field goal followed by a Mike Dunleavy, Jr. three-pointer, and another Butler runner, went unanswered. The Bulls strung together a 13-0 run. Meanwhile, Thompson and Green missed consecutive three-pointers.
Chicago had pulled to within 65-60 with 8:37 to go. Thompson finally ended the drought with a right-handed layup.
The Warriors and Bulls traded baskets after that. It was tit-for-tat as Curry made consecutive threes, but Barnes picked up his fourth foul. Marreese Speights subbed in and immediately drew a charge on Dunleavy, but Gasol got a swooping hook to bank in. The quarter ended with Curry stopping on a dime for a missed jumper at the buzzer.
The Bulls took an 80-79 lead heading into the final frame.
4TH QUARTER: Green, Treymond Money Green
The Warriors and Bulls continued the stalemate, up 83-82 with 9:37 to play, but after Green dove around the big to steal an low post-up entry pass by Kirk Hinrich, it seemed Green had drunk an elixir that turned him into a super-human.
Green got another steal, his fourth of the night, on a bad pass by Butler, but Andre Iguodala got called for warding off his defender, a questionable call, on the ensuing sequence. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called timeout and slapped his hands emphatically in front of one of the refs.
Green displayed yet more NBA-All-Defense-worthy play stopping Taj Gibson‘s putback attempt, Green’s third block of the night. Draymond then fed Speights for a slam dunk, then a Thompson trey made it 92-87, Warriors, with 6:53 to go.
After Thompson not only blocked, but also retrieved the rebound of, a Hinrich long jumper, Green squared up for his sixth three-pointer in rhythm, forcing Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau to call timeout, with the Warriors leading, 95-87, and 5:45 to play. Curry, who subbed in soon thereafter, had yet to check back in at that point.
Not long after that, Green got his seventh three-pointer on a nice cross-court sling pass by Thompson, then a layup thanks to high screen action played with Curry, and Thibodeau called another timeout with 3:11 to go and Golden State now up, 103-90.
With game well in hand at 105-96 and approaching just one minute left, Green tossed up an early heat-check, mic-dropping three, but missed off rim. But Thompson stole Gasol’s rebound outlet, then launched his own potential hammer-in-the-nail, only to miss that one as well.
However, the Bulls couldn’t generate any offense, as Derrick Rose‘s layup attempt rolled out and Green got fouled on the rebound. Thompson added a bad pass while jumping and trying to lob the ball in a keep-away game with Curry, but the Warriors had built enough of a cushion to withstand the late mental lapses.
The closest the Bulls got was 107-100 after Gasol got a tip-in with 31.5 seconds remaining. After that, Curry closed the game out on the free throw line, going 5-for-6 to finish with 19 points on 5-for-14 field, 1-for-5 downtown, 8-for-9 free throws, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists, to go along with 3 turnovers.
Thompson added 24 on 9-for-23 shooting, 2-for-8 from beyond the arc, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Speights added his usual double-digits of 11 points off the bench to go along with 6 rebounds, and Bogut chipped in 12 rebounds.
Butler led the Bulls with 24 and Gasol added 22. Rose only had 9 points on just 2-for-11 shooting.
But the night belonged — on both ends of the court — to “Treymond” Green, who finished with a career-high seven triples (7-for-13) and 31 points on 11-for-20 from the field, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocked shots.
It was a test in front of national critics, and Green helped the Warriors pass with flying colors.
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