One night after defeating the Celtics in Boston, the Golden State Warriors (10-2) were at the BMO Harris Bradley Center to face the Milwaukee Bucks (5-6).
The Warriors were without Damian Jones (pectoral surgery). Head coach Steve Kerr said pregame that everyone was available, i.e., no one would be sitting out due to rest.
The Bucks were without Khris Middleton (torn hamstring).
Q1 – Late Bucks Run
The Bucks came out energized, but the Warriors matched the intensity.
John Henson hit two early lefty hooks on post-ups inside over Zaza Pachulia, but Kevin Durant got an “and-one” reverse layup fed by Klay Thompson…
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…then smashed home a dunk on a cut, assisted by Pachulia in the post, then got wrapped up on a fast break by Tony Snell as Matthew Dellavedova made a bad back-pass.
However, Durant missed another free throw.
Draymond Green also got two tremendous dunks, both delivered by Zaza:
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Klay added a catch off a curl and Durant a catch-and-splash from the right side on a lefty overhead pass from Stephen Curry, but Durant got called for defensive three seconds, Green made a lead pass to “KD” when Durant wasn’t looking, and Curry tried the same pass again the next time down and Giannis Antetokounmpo made an easy steal.
After a timeout by Bucks head coach Jason Kidd, Draymond missed a trey at the top from a hand-off from Thompson, but Pachulia grabbed the offensive rebound, dished back out to Green, who swung the ball to Steph, who up-faked and hit a dribbling floater, plus the harm.
Curry followed that up with a look-away that froze the Bucks’ defense, allowing Steph to scoop the ball in with the right hand:
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Klay added an inside bucket with a dime from Curry…
Court vision. (@CSNAuthentic) pic.twitter.com/1MZZbGaEDl
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) November 20, 2016
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…and the Warriors had a 23-16 lead, but Michael Beasley came in, missed a jumper, and Miles Plumlee got the board, then got fed for a dunk by Jabari Parker.
That sparked the Bucks, as Malcolm Brogdon came in for Dellavedova and got a jumper, then attacked the rim, missed, but Beasley was there for the putback dunk.
Parker then turned a missed finger roll by Curry into a banker in transition, and Kerr called a timeout as Milwaukee climbed back to a one-point deficit, 24-23, with 3:05 remaining.
The Bucks weren’t done, though, as Beasley got a spinning fade-away in the lane to trickle in, Antetokounmpo got a steal and a run-out layup past Patrick McCaw, who had incidentally come in and made and missed a three, and after Milwaukee native Kevon Looney smoked a point-blank shot, Plumlee got another dunk, this time an “and-one”, and with 31 seconds to play, the Bucks had a 37-28 lead.
Thompson added two more misses, as a three clanked off after McCaw tipped Klay’s first missed jumper back to him, and the quarter ended with the Bucks on a 21-5 run.
Q2 – KD Scores By 3
After free throws by Durant, two Andre Iguodala threes in a row brought the Warriors back to within one, 37-36, with 10:48 to go, but Antetokuonmpo came back in affected the game again, getting a dunk on a mid-post, exploding past Shaun Livingston.
Kerr called a timeout as the Bucks went up, 45-38, and subbed in David West.
West got a bucket assisted by Durant, who then hit a three, then after a Dellavedova missed floater, KD stopped and popped for a swish from the left elbow to tie the ball game, 45-45.
But Antetokuonmpo came back with a left-to-right dribble drive and got an “and-one”, Durant shockingly missed two free throws, Curry missed another three, and Henson hit a layup in transition.
Pachulia answered with offensive rebound after offensive rebound, tipping in his own miss on one of them, but Antetokuonmpo showed off his other-worldy talent with a spin and a drive past Green to force another timeout from Kerr with the Warriors back down, 56-51.
After another miss by Klay on a wide-open catch that went short, Parker hit another banker in transition, plus a TV timeout, the Warriors crept back as KD hit a three assisted by Iguodala.
Later, Draymond swatted Greg Monroe on the left baseline, Thompson led the break, and dished to an awaiting Steph on the right side for, finally, a swish.
That tied the game, 61-61.
Monroe answered inside, but Green got the ball in the pinch post and found KD on the left side for three more, the Bucks answered again, and the Warriors ran the exact same play with Durant hitting again, this time from the left corner, and Golden State siezed the lead, 67-65:
.@KDTrey5 caps a 16-point second quarter in style on @CSNAuthentic. #SPLASH pic.twitter.com/9TQk4n4T8K
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) November 20, 2016
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KD was 5-for-5 from beyond the arc.
After one of two free throws from Antetokuonmpo, Dellavedova inexplicable put his left forearm into Curry as Steph crossed halfcourt, sending him to the line with 16.6 seconds left.
Curry hit both, Dellavedova couldn’t get a spinning drive past Klay to go, and the Warriors took a 69-66 lead into halftime, despite Milwaukee shooting 59.6%.
Durant led all scorers with 25 points.
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