The Golden State Warriors played a solid game and cruised to an easy wire-to-wire 123-92 victory over the short-handed Chicago Bulls.
The Golden State Warriors continue their streak of bouncing back after a loss. The Dubs fell to the Sacramento Kings in overtime in their last outing, but they made sure to rectify that on their home court. The Warriors defeated the Chicago Bulls 123-92.
Draymond Green yelled at Kevin Durant during that Sacramento loss in order to spark a fire in him. He never was able to wake up or get into a rhythm, taking just 10 shots. Afterwards Durant said he’d make an effort to be more aggressive.
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He took just 10 shots last game and he took seven in the first quarter. He attacked the rim early and, while he didn’t have his normal jumper, found ways to put the ball in the basket. He scored 22 points, dished out 7 assists, and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Stephen Curry and Durant couldn’t quite get it going from deep, but that’s why they have two All-Star teammates. Green and Klay Thompson both found the range in this one, combining for 11/25 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Bulls were without their two best players, Jimmy Butler and Dwayne Wade, in this one. No word on if the final box score will say “DNP – Warriors flu.” In their absence, Robin Lopez scored 17 points and added 10 rebounds.
Without them, the Warriors were able to put the Bulls away with relative ease without having Curry ever getting into a rhythm. He was in foul trouble, scoring just 13 points on 5/11 shooting. He started to get it going in the third quarter, knocking down a few shots, but was called for an offensive foul after kicking his out leg while making a three-pointer.
The Warriors’ biggest obstacles today was their own disinterest. They were disengaged at times and teased Chicago. They dangled the game in front of them and then pushed the lead again.
Golden State had a scare when JaVale McGee went down in the third quarter. He rose to block a Lopez shot and got caught in the air. The Bulls’ center undercut him and McGee tried to hold onto him to brace himself. He pulled him down and had a hard fall.
He held onto his tailbone and slowly walked to the locker room. McGee returned to the bench and was available to play. The Warriors can’t afford to lose another big man with Zaza Pachulia and David West out.
The newest Warrior, Briante Weber, made his Golden State debut. He entered the game in the third quarter and played some solid defense. He got more minutes at the end of the game when the outcome had been decided. Weber played six minutes, scored two points, and dished out 1 impressive assist to Patrick McCaw for three.
The Warriors played a solid game. They had 37 assists and shot 53.6 percent from three. They’re going to need to clean up their game and stay engaged when they look for revenge on the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
