Three days after suffering their first loss of the season, the Warriors thrashed the Phoenix Suns in a 128-103 rout Wednesday.
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As fun as the streak was while it lasted, last weekend’s defeat to the Bucks could prove to be a blessing in disguise.
Regardless of what exclusively happened in the match, with the inside-court plays, there is rationality which leads to an interpretation of why the Bucks were the first to beat the Warriors this season. They want, figuratively, the sight of Milwaukee blood on the floor. After struggling mightily in the loss at Milwaukee in his first game back from a sprained ankle, Thompson caught fire and was 15 for 22 from the field. The Warriors typically unselfish ball movement ensured that the ball ended up in the hands of one of the Splash Brothers on every possession, but the speed and precision with which the Warriors found the right man was a refreshing upgrade over the team’s play at the end of the road trip.
It will be interesting to see how they will react now that they landed on earth and that reaction could be an indication of whether they are able to triumph for a second consecutive season.
Much was made about the Warriors coming into that matchup off the back of a double overtime game on the first night of a back to back in Boston, yet somehow the Celtics managed to recover from that game to win on the road against a formidable Charlotte team.
The defending champions should be honored that teams celebrate beating them in the fashion that the Bucks did. And when the Bucks put the finishing touches on their victory, they savored it.
“When he gets to clicking, there’s no better thing to watch”, Stephen Curry said.
The game was tied with 5:34 left in the fourth quarter. “With the streak over and all that, hopefully we can get another one going, we can focus on the details of how we’re playing and continue to get better and focus on the things that will help us win a championship let alone regular season games”.
“I just knew if I was going to get those shots all game, was going to knock them down”, he said. “And Friday will be a big game for us”. Draymond Green also had some sharp words, especially for Carter-Williams, who had lost his job as Milwaukee’s starting point guard and came off the bench against Golden State.
“It was a nice celebration”, Curry said with a clear undertone of sarcasm.
“Michael Carter-Williams getting a dunk at the end of the game and looking at our bench like, ‘Dude you lost your spot, ‘” said Green, who got his fourth triple-double of the season in Wednesday’s win over the Suns.
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Thompson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Warriors the lead for good, eventually finishing 8 for 13 from beyond the arc. But, the demonstration seemed to him rather flagrant.
