The Golden State Warriors were at BMO Harris Bradley Center to face the Milwaukee Bucks. Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors having won in Boston, while the Bucks had lost in Toronto.
Klay Thompson returned to the starting lineup after missing one game with a sprained ankle, deemed healthy enough right before tipoff. Harrison Barnes was still out with his sprained left ankle.
1st Quarter – Ezeli Stems Tide After Middleton And Monroe Lead Charge
The Bucks started the game hot, as Khris Middleton made his first three shots, one of them a three, and O.J. Mayo also added a triple.
Thompson showed no ill effects of the recent ankle sprain, getting a step-back three in transition to drop, although he missed a jumper after that.
Welcome back Klay Thompson! #SplashDown on @NBATV. #NBARapidReplay https://t.co/mQRL8UY56s
— NBA (@NBA) December 13, 2015
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Stephen Curry made a nice reverse layup, going backdoor on Middleton, from a low-angle bounce pass from Andrew Bogut, and then added a three from the right corner after nearly throwing the ball away on a deflected pass back up to Draymond Green by Jabari Parker, but Curry managed to have the ball bounce right back to him in the corner and he escaped with three.
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After Parker missed a layup in response, Thompson scored on a cut to the hoop, assisted by Green, and Bucks head coach Jason Kidd took a timeout as an early lead of 18-9 had evaporated to 18-16 with 4:52 to play in the opening quarter.
Out of the timeout, the Bucks went on another run before Giannis Antetokounmpo got blocked by Green and Curry finished the fast break with a runout finger roll layup.
But Greg Monroe came alive, got layups and hook shots, and suddenly Milwaukee had a 30-18 lead with 2:48 to play.
However, Festus Ezeli checked in and changed the game, tracking down two consecutive misses by Curry to get a putback “and-one” that cured the Warriors’ dry spell:
. @festus doing work on the glass! #NBAVote #DubTheVote pic.twitter.com/cVdY1ynpZ8
— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) December 13, 2015
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After Michael Carter-Williams missed a jumper, Curry corralled the rebound and fired a touchdown “and-one” to Green. Golden State had cut the lead to 30-24 with 52.6 seconds remaining.
Let's run that sick full court outlet pass from Steph back one more time. #NBARapidReplay https://t.co/VNOW4zxlwO
— NBA (@NBA) December 13, 2015
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But the Warriors weren’t done, as Ezeli snagged a Rashad Vaughn miss and Curry took the ball the length of the court, down to the right baseline before stopping, pivoting, and burying a jumper with his defender all over him.
Williams then went down the left lane but stuck out a chicken wing into Curry in the process, got called for a charge, and Green finished the quarter with a drive down the left side of the lane, fouled by John Henson.
Green’s two free throws brought the Warriors back to 30-28 at the end of the first quarter.
2nd Quarter – Bucks Continue Hot Shooting
Ezeli spear-headed the beginning of the second period, getting two straight buckets underneath, the second an “and-one”, assisted by Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, respectively.
That capped a 15-0 run since the end of the first frame.
But the Bucks started a run of their own, with Henson getting an inside bucket, but Iguodala couldn’t get a shot off in time, threw the ball out to Leandro Barbosa without enough time, and the Warriors committed a shotclock violation.
Ezeli followed that up with a bad pass that Williams st dished to Henson for an easy layup.
Thompson checked back in, but missed his next three shots, and the Bucks capitalized on every possession, taking a 48-36 lead.
Green finally ended the mini-drought with a dunk on the right side, via drop-pass from Klay, to make it 48-38 with 3:46 to go.
Nice dish from @KlayThompson sets up the Draymond dunk. #NBAVote #DubTheVote pic.twitter.com/tStj9OWqVm
— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) December 13, 2015
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But Milwaukee kept the heat on, hitting from beyond the arc, as a Green drive down the lane was sandwiched between triples by Mayo and Antetokounmpo, giving the Bucks six treys on nine attempts from downtown.
After a Curry jumper and a Livingston steal the led to an Iguodala layup, Monroe added one of two free throws after a touch foul by Curry, but Steph managed to get his own rebound from a block by Middleton for two trips to the line.
That closed the gap to 59-48, Bucks, at the half.
Curry led all scorers with 17 points, although there were no moments of sudden flurries, but the Warriors shot a combined 2-for-13 from downtown and an anemic 37.5% from the field, while the Bucks had three players in double-figures already and were shooting 52.2% from the floor.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @yomikeceaz)
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