The Bucks came into this game riding a 3 game win streak. The Warriors on the other hand came into this game after losing 7 of their last 8 games. Giannis Antetokounmpo would not play in this game nor would P.J. Tucker who the Bucks acquired at the trade deadline. Eric Paschall would not play for the Warriors which didn’t quite make up for the Bucks losing Giannis. The Warriors and Bucks played earlier this season and that was on Christmas and the Bucks completely annihilated the Warriors 138-99. The Warriors hoped to turn the tables in this game but to do that they would likely need to rebound well, defend Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton well, and find an amazing game out of Stephen Curry. For the Bucks to win they needed to force turnovers, stop Stephen Curry, and find nice games out of Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton. Would the Warriors get the win over a great team in the Bucks or would the Bucks somehow get away with a win despite Giannis’ absence? To the game!
James Wiseman won the tip which led to a Draymond Green finger roll. At 11:26 Bobby Portis made a 3 to give the Bucks the lead and their first points of the game. At 10:50 James Wiseman made an alley oop dunk to give the Warriors the lead. At 10:07 Stephen Curry made a 3 to give the Warriors a 7 point lead. Then at 9:31 Andrew Wiggins made a 3 to give the Warriors a 10 point lead. At 8:09 Jrue Holiday made a finger roll to make it an 8 point game. At the 8 minute mark James Wiseman took an 11 point lead for the Warriors with an and 1 dunk. At the 7 minute mark Jrue Holiday made a layup to make it a 9 point game. Then at 5:43 Khris Middleton made 2 free throws to make it a 5 point game. At 5:04 Kent Bazemore made a 3 to give the Warriors a 6 point lead. At 3:57 Thanasis Antetokounmpo made a a dunk to make it a 4 point game for the Bucks. At the 2 minute mark Kent Bazemore made a 3 to retake a 5 point lead for the Warriors. To end the quarter Jrue Holiday made a 3 of his own. This was a nice quarter for the Warriors who got off to a 13-3 start but let the Bucks bring it back down to a 2 point game by the end of the quarter. Stephen Curry led the Warriors in the first quarter with 9 points and Jrue Holiday led the Bucks with 11 points. The Warriors had 5 fewer assists, 2 more rebounds, 3 fewer steals, 2 more blocks, and 2 more fouls than the Bucks in the first quarter. The Warriors and Bucks also had 5 turnovers each in the first quarter. The Warriors shot decently in the first quarter with 41.7% from the field and 38.5% from 3. The Bucks shot better though with 52.6% from the field and 33.3% from deep. Both teams entered the 2nd quarter hoping to pull away from the other team.
To start the 2nd quarter Bryn Forbes made a game tying fadeaway jumper. At 10:25 Kelly Oubre Jr. made a layup to give the Warriors the lead and their first points of the quarter. At 10:07 Thanasis Antetokounmpo made a dunk to tie the game at 30. At 9:43 Jeff Teague got a 3 point play to give the Bucks the lead. Then at 8:34 Jeff Teague made a 3 to give the Bucks a 6 point lead. At 8:13 Kent Bazemore made a layup to make it a 4 point game. At 6:46 James Wiseman slammed home an alley oop dunk to tie the game at 37 points a piece for the Warriors. At 6:11 Jordan Poole made a 3 to give the Warriors the lead once again. Then at 4:48 Poole made a pullup jumper to give the Warriors a 6 point lead. At 3:52 Donte DiVincenzo made a 3 to remake it a 3 point game. At 3:36 Poole made a floater to give the Warriors a 5 point lead. At 3:09 James Wiseman made a layup to give the Warriors a 7 point lead. Then at 2:13 Khris Middleton made a pullup jumper to make it a 5 point game. At 1:32 Stephen Curry made a pullup jumper of his own to give the Warriors a 5 point lead once again. To end the half Pat Connaughton made a jumper. The Warriors led 53-50 at halftime. James Wiseman led the Warriors in the first half with 11 points, 10 rebounds, an assist, and a block. Khris Middleton led the Bucks in the first half with a solid 12 points. In the first half the Warriors had 2 fewer assists, 7 more rebounds, 5 fewer steals, 4 more blocks, 2 more turnovers, and 3 more fouls than the Bucks. The Warriors shot decently with 42% from the field and 31.8% from 3. The Bucks shot a bit better with 45.5% from the field and 26.7% from deep. Both teams entered the 3rd quarter hoping to take over. To the third!
To start the 3rd quarter Kelly Oubre Jr. made 1 of 2 free throws after being fouled by Jrue Holiday. At 11:35 Jrue Holiday made a layup to give the Bucks their first points of the quarter. At 11:10 Khris Middleton made a 3 to give the Bucks the lead. At 7:45 Middleton made another 3 to give the Bucks a 6 point lead. Then at 5:16 Thanasis Antetokounmpo completed a 3 point play to give the Bucks a 10 point lead. At the 5 minute mark Kent Bazemore made a a 3 to make it a 7 point game for the Warriors. At 3:12 Bobby Portis made a floater to give the Bucks an 11 point lead. At 3:05 Stephen Curry made a 3 to cut the deficit to 8. Then at 2:17 Jrue Holiday made a 3 of his own to retake an 11 point lead for the Bucks. Steph quickly responded though with a layup to bring the Bucks lead down to 9. At 1:54 Jeff Teague countered with a 3 to give the Bucks a 12 point lead. At 1:36 Kevon Looney made a made a layup to make it a 10 point game. At 1:08 Steph made 2 of 3 free throws to make it an 8 point game. Then with 37 seconds left in the quarter Kent Bazemore made a 3 to make it a 5 point game. With 24.9 seconds left in the quarter Jrue Holiday got a 3 point play. To end the quarter Stephen Curry made a 3. The Bucks led 88-83 after the 3rd quarter. The Bucks were led by Khris Middleton with 27 points in the first 3 quarters and the Warriors were led by Stephen Curry with 30 points in the first 3 quarters. In the first 3 quarters the Warriors had 1 fewer assist, 1 more rebound, 2 fewer steals, 3 more blocks, 2 fewer turnovers, and 4 more fouls than the Bucks. The Bucks shot astoundingly with 53.2% from the field and 39.1% from 3. The Warriors didn’t shoot very well with a tough 41.9% from the field and 36.4% from deep. Both teams entered the 4th quarter hoping to go on a run and get the win.
To start the 4th quarter Jeff Teague made a finger roll. At 11:18 James Wiseman made a layup to make it a 5 point game and give the Warriors their first points of the quarter. At 10:53 Bryn Forbes made a 3 to give the Bucks an 8 point lead. At 7:45 Forbes made another 3 to give the Bucks an 11 point lead. Then at 7:31 Stephen Curry made a finger roll to cut it to an 8 point deficit. Jeff Teague quickly undid that with a pullup jumper that remade it a 10 point game. At the 7 minute mark Draymond Green made a jumper to make it an 8 point game. At 4:31 Jrue Holiday made a 3 to give the Bucks a 10 point lead once again. At 4:15 Kelly Oubre Jr. made a 3 to make it a 7 point game. Jrue Holiday quickly rebutted with another 3 to give the Bucks a 10 point lead. Then Kelly Oubre Jr. came back on the next play with a 3 to make it a 7 point game. At 3:13 Stephen Curry made a layup to make it a 5 point game. At 2:24 Steph made a 3 to make it a 2 point game. At 1:32 Kent Bazemore made a layup to give the Warriors the lead. Then with 30.1 seconds left in regulation Jrue Holiday made a layup to retake the lead for the Bucks. With 7.7 seconds left in regulation Kelly Oubre Jr. made 2 free throws after being fouled by Brook Lopez while attempting a putback layup. Those free throws gave the Warriors the lead and gave the Bucks 1 shot to win the game. Khris Middleton got blocked by Andrew Wiggins while shooting a 3 and then Pat Connaughton got an offensive rebound and missed a last hope shot to end the game. The Warriors won 122-121.
Leo’s Courtside Commentary: A 14-1 Warriors run that lasted from 3:45 to 1:06 in the 4th quarter propelled the Warriors to this very close and impressive win. Stephen Curry led the Warriors in this astonishing win with a whopping stat line of 41 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in as well with 19 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, and 2 steals. Kent Bazemore also played well off the bench with 18 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Khris Middleton led the Bucks in this game with 28 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, and a steal. Jrue Holiday was also a leader with 29 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. Bobby Portis was a contributor as well for the Bucks with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and a steal. The Warriors ended up with 3 more assists, 2 more rebounds, 1 fewer steals, 3 more blocks, 3 fewer turnovers, and 5 more fouls than the Bucks. The Bucks shot an astounding 51.2% from the field, 43.8% from downtown, and 86.4% from the free throw line in this game. The Warriors shot very similarly with 47.9% from the field, 37.5% from 3, and 88.2% on free throws. Overall, was a much needed win for the Warriors against a great team in the Bucks.
Out of LF 
Wonderful recap. On the one hand I wish I had see this game. On the other, I think the excitement might have been too much for me – a real nail biter. GoWarriors
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