Live coverage: Golden State Warriors vs. Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum
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The Bucks welcomed in “Milwaukee West” on Tuesday night, as the defending champion Golden State Warriors made their only regular-season trip into Fiserv Forum. From the executive level through the coaching staff and of course the roster itself, the Warriors are full of Wisconsin and Milwaukee natives – along with a host of former Bucks in key roles.
They also have two-time MVP Stephen Curry and five-time all-star Klay Thompson and former defensive player of the year Draymond Green at their core, but the Bucks turned up the defense en route to a 128-111 victory. Milwaukee improved to 20-7 on the season, including a 13-3 mark at home. The Warriors dropped to 14-14.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry struggle with their shots
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It was a tough night for the two former league Most Valuable Players.
Antetokounmpo was coming off a “down” two-step in Texas, scoring five first half points against Dallas and tying his season-low with just 16 against Houston. The Bucks’ superstar – and the league’s second-leading scorer – was aggressive early on but not very successful in starting the game 5-for-15 in the first half. But, he made 6 of 8 free throws to score 16 points in the first half.
On the other side, one would have thought Curry – the league’s No. 4 scorer – would be able to take advantage of the fact that Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday was out with an illness. But he only attempted one field goal in the first 10 minutes of the game and was just 3-for-10 in the first half for eight points.
BOX SCORE: Bucks 128, Warriors 111
With the Warriors being blown out, Curry played just 27 minutes and was 3-for-7 in the second half. On the night, he scored 20 points and was just 3-for-10 from behind the three-point line.
Antetokounmpo continued to be aggressive in getting up his shots but wasn’t as fortunate as Curry in terms of his field goal percentage. Antetokounmpo finished with a game-high 30 points but it took him 26 shots. He made just nine, including a 1-for-6 effort from behind the three-point line.
When he made that lone three, he raised his hands and threw them down almost in disbelief with the rarity of his shots going in. He was also 11-for-17 from the free throw line.
Fan ejected, Antetokounmpo called for 10-second free throw violations
The Bucks were leading by 23 points with just over five minutes left in the third quarter when things got weird at Fiserv Forum.
Warriors star Draymond Green had a fan ejected by game officials after Curry made two free throws with 5:19 remaining. Curry made his third free throw to pull the Warriors to 85-65.
Thirteen seconds later, Antetokounmpo was whistled for his second, 10-second free throw violation of the game. Antetokounmpo walked off the line with the ball which led to a delay of game penalty. It was the second such violation for the Bucks, which gave the Warriors a technical free throw.
Following an Antetokounmpo basket shortly thereafter, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer was called for a technical foul.
Antetokounmpo has once again been subject to the watchful stopwatch of opponents and officials since tweaking his free-throw routine in late November, and he began to be whistled for taking too long on an ESPN broadcast vs. the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 2. He was called for another violation in Orlando on Dec. 5. With Tuesday’s game on national TV on TNT, Antetokounmpo was called for it two more times.
Bucks break through Warriors defense
On the season, the Warriors don’t have a great defensive rating – 112.4, or 19th in the NBA. But, since the start of November they have been a top-five defense (109.8). And, it would seem they had gotten a boost as Draymond Green was cleared to play Tuesday after suffering an ankle sprain. It was the first time he and Antetokounmpo went head-to-head since a Jan. 8, 2020, Bucks victory. Green had missed three of the last four games between the two teams, and Antetokounmpo missed the one Green played in.
But the Bucks opened the game with a 38-point first quarter to set a tone offensively. And while Antetokounmpo wasn’t at his most efficient, the rest of the Bucks were. In taking a 77-58 lead early in the third quarter, the other eight Bucks who played were 23-for-34 (67.6%) from the floor in scoring 56 points. That continued to be the trend, as the rest of the Bucks were still shooting 65% from the floor (28-for-43) by the time the benches were essentially emptied with the Bucks leading 108-87 with 6:33 to go.
How did all the Warriors with Wisconsin ties do?
It was homecoming for a handful of players with Golden State. Here’s a quick rundown of their performances against the Bucks:
Jordan Poole: The Warriors’ regular sixth man and fourth-leading scorer started in his homecoming, and he played the most minutes of anyone on his team with 32. He scored 18 points on 6 of 17 shooting, including 3-for-7 from behind the three-point line.
Kevon Looney: Golden State’s trusted big man and defensive presence made his 139th straight appearance, the second-longest active streak in the league. He estimated he had about 40 ticket requests. Bearing the brunt of Antetokounmpo’s assaults on the paint, Looney played just 19 minutes and scored five points while pulling down eight rebounds.
Patrick Baldwin Jr.: The first-round pick out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee had only gotten into four games this season and had not played since Nov. 23. But, head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged they brought him back up from the G League for his homecoming and Baldwin Jr. estimated he had about 50 ticket requests.
“This is a big deal,” Baldwin said. “I wanted to see family and get a chance to get out here for this game. And it’s just awesome that they gave the opportunity to come back here and come back for this game.”
He checked in with 8:14 to go in the game and knocked down a couple of three-pointers.
Donte DiVincenzo: The Bucks’ former first-round pick returned to Milwaukee for the first time since being traded to Sacramento in February. The 25-year-old came into the game shooting 32% from behind the three-point line about 18 minutes of action per game. He came off the bench and hit three early three-pointers, but cooled after that to finish 5-for-15 in scoring 16 points.
DiVincenzo admitted it was weird being back in town as a visitor, but he was able to catch up with some friends and have dinner in town. Then on Tuesday he got some ribbing from teammates that he wasn’t sitting with all the Milwaukee guys for lunch. “I mean, it’s cool,” DiVincenzo said. “It’s cool to be loved, it’s cool to feel that love and I appreciate it.”
Other Warriors with ties to the city and state were vice president of basketball operations Mike Dunleavy Jr., assistant general manager/director of player personnel Larry Harris, director of player affairs and engagement Shaun Livingston, liaison of basketball and business Zaza Pachulia, senior director of public relations Brett Winkler and assistant coaches Ron Adams and Chris DeMarco.
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5 numbers
3 Technical fouls in the first quarter by the Warriors. Jordan Poole, Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr were all T’d up in the first quarter, leading to three free throws by Khris Middleton. It helped the Bucks take a 38-27 lead after one, as the Bucks made 8 of 9 free throws in total.
8 Technical fouls in the game. Mike Budenholzer and Brook Lopez were called for individual technical in the third quarter while Golden State shot another free throw due to two delay of game violations by the Bucks. Andre Iguodala received a technical foul in the third quarter from the bench, even though he wasn’t playing. Jonathan Kuminga was given a technical early in the fourth quarter.
9-3 Bucks record vs. the Western Conference after the victory.
214 Straight regular-season games Curry has hit at least 1 three-pointer, an NBA record. Interestingly, the last game Curry played that he didn’t make a three-pointer was Nov. 8, 2018, against Milwaukee. He went 0-for-4 from distance in 26 minutes in a Bucks blowout victory. For context, Khris Middleton has the longest streak in Bucks history with 47 straight games (Dec. 2, 2019-Aug. 8, 2020) with at least one made three.
22,095 Career minutes for Antetokounmpo, setting a Bucks franchise record. He passed Hall of Famer Bob Dandridge for the honor late in the second quarter. It is the eighth franchise record Antetokounmpo holds.
Play of the game is Giannis taking four dribbles to dunk
Giannis Antetokounmpo going coast-to-coast in transition is not a new development. He’s arguably the best in the world at pulling down a defensive rebound and getting to the rim on the other end. But, how he does it continues to be eye-opening — like this four-dribble (four!) foray into the paint that finished with a dunk.
Video of the game is Giannis blocking Donte DiVincenzo
If anyone would know how Giannis Antetokounmpo likes to chase down opponents for blocks, it would be former Bucks guard Donte DiVincenzo. Unfortunately for DiVincenzo, who is now an opponent, he got to experience it first hand as he was caught from behind by the former defensive player of the year.
(Unfortunately for DiVincenzo, Antetokounmpo wasn’t the only former teammate to swat him — Pat Connaughton sent a three-point attempt deep into the seats, too.)
Bucks injury report
Who do the Bucks play next?
Milwaukee gets right back on the road to take on the Memphis Grizzlies at 7 p.m. on Thursday at FedExForum. The Grizzlies are coached by former Bucks assistant Taylor Jenkins and remain one of the top teams in the NBA behind the play of star guard Ja Morant and a top-five defense.
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Fan ejection, technicals and free throw violations cloud Bucks’ 128-111 victory over Warriors