Golden State Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga (00) makes a dunk against the Milwaukee Bucks' Brook Lopez (11) in the first quarter of a NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
SAN FRANCISCO — At full strength for the first time since finding their identity, the Warriors levied their full wrath.
Against the caliber of team that has given the Warriors fits this year, Golden State put together its finest half of the season and avoided the type of second-half collapse that has spoiled so many of their games. They recorded a season-high 13 blocks, assisted on 37 of their 51 baskets, and tilted the game to their preferred pace.
Steve Kerr had his full complement of options, and practically everyone in his 11-man rotation contributed to hand Milwaukee its first loss since the All-Star break. Steph Curry (29 points) and Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors’ scoring effort. Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis was a force on both ends and Chris Paul dished nine assists off the bench.
The Warriors (33-28) delivered their most impressive win of the season, a 125-90 thumping. At least for one game, they were every bit as fearsome as the true title contender sharing the court with them.
The Bucks presented this year’s Warriors group the opportunity to prove something they haven’t yet: the ability to hang with the league’s elite teams.
Milwaukee, who entered a perfect 6-0 since the All-Star break, are one of the league’s championship favorites even with Khris Middleton injured. Against the Bucks, Celtics, Timberwolves, Thunder and Nuggets — the NBA’s top five teams — Golden State was 2-11. The Warriors’ 13-25 record against winning teams was the worst among any team in the Western Conference playoff picture.
On Wednesday, they made their track record against the game’s best irrelevant. The Warriors have accrued more championship DNA than any other team, but at some point this year, they’ll have to consistently rise to the occasion — like they did in Chase Center.
The Warriors elevated their play in the first quarter, which began with a fast-paced, playoff-level intensity. Jonathan Kuminga hunted his mismatch — the bigger Brook Lopez — and the Warriors geared their defense to hounding ball-handlers other than Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Curry hit Draymond Green with a hit-ahead pass for a transition bucket after a make and Brandin Podziemski was active on defense and pursuing loose balls. Amid the up-and-down action, Green picked up a technical foul.
Curry began the game 4-for-4 with 10 points, sending the Bucks to a timeout by draining a pull-up jumper from 32 feet out. As the Bucks headed to their bench, Curry mimed a golf swing.
Precise ball movement allowed the Warriors to shoot 65.4% from the floor in a 40-32 winning first quarter.
Chris Paul led a second-unit surge, building an 18-point lead and maintaining a double-digit cushion — one that persisted through a standing ovation for Bob Myers, the former general manager back in Chase Center for the first time since leaving the organization.
Green blocked a Bobby Portis corner 3, igniting a fast break that ended in one of several Kuminga dunks. Even Klay Thompson rose up for a transition jam.
Golden State canned 12 of its first 19 3-pointers, earning their biggest halftime lead of the year. Three days after scoring 88 points in Boston, they dropped 78.
Yet the Warriors followed up their sharpest half by getting stuck between gears. After everything for the Warriors fell, nothing did. After they took care of the ball, the Bucks’ ball pressure overwhelmed them.
Golden State managed five points in the first six minutes of the third quarter, seeing their 20-point lead trimmed to six. But when all momentum flipped to the Bucks, Trayce Jackson-Davis came to the rescue. The rookie center blocked Antetokounmpo twice on the same possession, then finished an alley-oop from Curry on the other end. Moments later, Jackson-Davis swatted Antetokounmpo again before dunking off a gorgeous pocket pass from Paul.
The Warriors’ depth won out in the end. With Antetokounmpo resting for two minutes to start the final frame, Golden State stretched its lead back to 20. Moses Moody played tenacious on-ball defense on Lillard, freezing out Milwaukee’s offensive engine. Jackson-Davis slammed another putback dunk and Green sank back-to-back 3-pointers to ignite the Chase Center crowd.
The 35-point win, Golden State’s largest margin of victory of the year, looked just like the type of Warriors victory Myers had seen hundreds of times. Like proof of the Warriors’ championship window stubbornly staying ajar.
Originally published at Danny Emerman