The Milwaukee Bucks gave the Golden State Warriors a hard blow at the local Fiserv Forum. In the 118-99 victory of the hosts Giannis Antetokounmpo was the best man on the court, Curry delivered one of his weakest performances of the season.
Milwaukee Bucks (27-17) – Golden State Warriors (30-11) 118:99 (BOXSCORE)
It was a duel between two MVP candidates, Giannis Antetokoumpo for the Bucks and Stephen Curry for the Warriors. But while the two superstars are close to each other in the race for the trophy for the most valuable player, this evening there were worlds between the Greek and the best shooter of all time.
Giannis put on a triple-double (30 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists), Curry caught a used evening and only got 12 points (4/11 FG). Khris Middleton contributed 23 points, and audience favorite Bobby Portis was also convincing (20 points, 7 rebounds). No Warriors player cracked the 20-point mark, Andrew Wiggins (16) and Jonathan Kuminga (15) were still the best scorers among the guests.
The Warriors lost three of their last four games – and the weakness of the Dubs was clearly visible at the start of the game. Andre Iguodala was blocked from the ring during a dunk attempt – symbolic of the guests’ offensive in the first few minutes. The defensive of the Bucks made life difficult for the Dubs, although with Jrue Holiday (ankle injury) the probably best perimeter defender Milwaukee missed the fourth game in a row.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was already forced to call the first timeout after 5 minutes when the score was 16-4. The Warriors then tried to thwart the hosts with zone defense, but were unsuccessful. The Bucks hit 58% of their throws in the first quarter and finished the first section with an 8-0 run. Giannis and Middleton both had 11 points on their accounts at the time, and the guests made six turnovers.
The best defense in the league was extremely difficult against the strong hosts without Draymond Green (calf injury), In which, however, some well-defended throws found their way through the net. At the latest after Bobby Portis sank a buzzer beater from downtown (including shimmy cheers), it should have been clear to all Warriors fans that there is nothing to be gained in Milwaukee that evening.
Dubs cannot recover from a weak first half
But there was still a little hope, after all, the third quarter is the parade discipline of the Warriors. And indeed: After the catastrophic first half (27 percent out of the field), the guests caught something and sank 6 of 13 three-way attempts in this phase.
Thompson slowly got into a rhythm and posted 8 of his 11 points in the third quarter, Andrew Wiggins also offered some resistance in the section with 8 points. The Bucks meanwhile cooled down a bit (7/22 FG) and took their foot off the accelerator. Despite the fact that Golden State won the third section with 14 points, nothing more mattered, Milwaukee’s lead was just too big.
In the last section, Steve Kerr threw the white towel and emptied his bench, the starters followed from the sidelines for the last 12 minutes. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer followed suit around nine minutes before the end, Giannis and Middleton received their deserved applause on the way to the bank.
At the Bucks, eight of the next ten games will take place in front of a home crowd, tomorrow the next top team from the east is waiting for the Warriors: the Chicago Bulls. The Dubs will have to do without Klay Thompson, who is not yet used in back-to-back games after his injury.
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