This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Golden State Warriors at the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks held a 59-48 lead at halftime.
[NOTE: highlights are being added now and will be available within 30 minutes]3rd Quarter – Mini-Run Chips Away At Deficit
The Warriors tried to chip away at the double-digit Bucks lead, but Milwaukee did well to stem the tide.
Stephen Curry started the half on the wrong foot with a bad pass that O.J. Mayo stole and resulted in a Jabari Parker “and-one” fast break layup against Brandon Rush, but Parker missed the free throw.
Later, Klay Thompson got called for a charge with an elbow into Mayo’s neck. The referees reviewed the play and ruled the foul a Flagrant One on Thompson.
After Greg Monroe and Draymond Green traded tip-in putbacks, Andrew Bogut stopped Monroe at the rim then Giannis Antetokounmpo twice, leading to buckets by Draymond Green on a strong drive and Rush on a finger roll in transition that he missed, but was fouled on the play.
Curry added to the momentum, going between-the-legs on the right-to-left dribble past Antetokounmpo for a beautiful lefty scoop that cut the Bucks’ lead to 67-60:
Oh my @StephenCurry30!!!! #NBAVote #DubTheVote pic.twitter.com/H1ytC6kw53
— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) December 13, 2015
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Later, Thompson and Curry went with pick action on the right side and Bogut eventually found Klay for a layup with a nice lead bounce pass.
Curry then missed a three, but got his own rebound, spotted Thompson open on the right wing while running left towards the ball, and flung a lefty zinger to Klay for the catch-and-shoot which halved their deficit to 70-67 with 5:43 to go in the quarter.
Mayo then missed two consecutive triple attempts in the same sequence and Rush made the Bucks pay with an upfake on Greg Monroe from the left corner, going baseline past Monroe’s matador defense, and slamming the ball home with two hands:
Come for the slam, stay for the bench reaction! pic.twitter.com/SDqXrVLYxm
— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) December 13, 2015
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Bucks head coach Jason Kidd called a timeout and the Warriors had cut the lead to 70-69 with 5:11 to go in the third.
But Jabari Parker came back with a jumper on the left baseline, then tapped out a pass by Green as Draymond posted up Parker on the right block, and finished with a layup on the break.
Festus Ezeli answered with a putback layup, Shaun Livingston got a two-handed dunk inside fed by Andre Iguodala, and the Warriors got back to within three, 78-75, with 2:11 left.
After Iguodala rejected Khris Middleton at the rim, Curry scissored through the Bucks’ defense for a lefty scoop high off the backboard, but Michael Carter-Williams answered with a leaning bucket inside the paint, and Milwaukee maintained an 80-77 lead heading into the final frame.
4th Quarter – Bucks Answer Every Call
Although Jason Thompson started the fourth with this emphatic swat of Carter-Williams…
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) December 13, 2015
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…the bench unit had no pop on offense tonight and the Bucks took advantage, with Carter-Williams getting a spin on Leandro Barbosa and finishing with an “and-one” to go back up, 85-77.
When Thompson came back in at about the nine-minute mark, he was not effective except for a feed to Ezeli for a dunk.
Klay missed two of four free throws, while Carter-Williams got a soaring two-handed dunk down the lane, assisted by Monroe, and Monroe went down the lane multiple times himself for buckets.
Curry finally got a three off another Mayo miss, then got a reverse layup after Antetokounmpo shot an airball at the shotclock buzzer, and the Warriors got as close as 95-88 with 4:08 remaining.
But Antetokounmpo answered with an “and-one” down the right side against Thompson, Curry missed a hand-off three from the top of the arc, and Monroe went down the left side of the lane for two of his game-high 28 points.
Steph tapped a missed three by Klay to Iguodala, who found Green down low to trim the Warriors’ deficit to 99-90, but once again the Bucks answered the call as Monroe got a layup and the harm for yet another traditional three-point play, fouled by Green.
That gave Milwaukee a 101-90 lead with 2:51 to go.
Out of a timeout, Curry turned the ball over to Mayo who finished the 2-on-1 fastbreak with a layup, and even though Green answered with a triple, the turnover was a bad omen and Golden State was running out of time.
Monroe missed on the next possession, but Carter-Williams came through again with an offensive rebound, the Bucks burned some more clock, and Green turned the ball over after rebounding the next miss.
After an Iguodala missed three, Carter-Williams got fouled and Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton waved the white flag, emptying his bench with 1:02 remaining and the Bucks up, 106-93, after the made free throws.
Brandon Rush turned the ball over on the next sequence, Carter-Williams stole the ball and dunked it to the cheers of the Milwaukee crowd, and the Bucks ended the Warriors’ 24-0 run by the final score of 108-95.
Curry ended the night with 28 points on 10-for-21 field but just 2-for-8 from downtown, while Thompson was just 4-for-14 for 12 points. Green tallied 24 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, as the team got “just” 23 assists on 36 buckets. Ezeli had a nice game off the bench, with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Golden State shot an anemic 6-for-26 from beyond the arc.
Aside from Monroe’s 11-for-16 game, Carter-Williams racked up 17 points on 7-for-10 field coming off the bench and Parker chipped in 19 on 9-for-14 shooting.
The Warriors head back to the Bay and will face the Phoenix Suns in four nights at Oracle Arena.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account @tcranney12)
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