The NBA is the ultimate “anything can happen” league. You know exactly what should happen on any given night, and yet it fails to transpire with alarming frequency.
When the week began, the Golden State Warriors had a compelling and meaningful challenge awaiting them: a back-to-back against two contending squads who recently won championships, and are led by multi-time MVPs still in their prime.
The Warriors were handed the gift of all gifts when their Monday opponent, the Denver Nuggets, showed up at the arena unable to play Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, or Christian Braun. And they were dealt the challenge of all challenges when they faced their Tuesday opponent, the very healthy Milwaukee Bucks, without Steph Curry.
Naturally, Monday’s game was an uncompetitive loss, and Tuesday’s game was a double-digit victory. Just as everyone saw coming.
The Dubs were clearly angered and motivated by their fairly-pathetic loss to the Nuggets, and got a boost of energy from the return of Brandin Podziemski … who slid right into the starting lineup alongside Moses Moody, Jimmy Butler III, Draymond Green, and Quinten Post.
There was apparent energy and intensity from the jump, with Post and Butler making threes to start the scoring, and the defense locking down. A Moody three a few minutes later made it a 12-3 lead, and forced an early timeout from Doc Rivers.
Golden State was controlling the game thanks to some spectacular defense. Green was simply showing off against Giannis Antetokounmpo, while Moody was impressing against Damian Lillard. That, combined with some hot shooting, helped push the lead to 17-6.
The Dubs were mostly living at the three-point line, and eventually that well started to dry up. Once Butler went to the bench, the Warriors struggled to find spacing and open looks, and Milwaukee’s second unit found some momentum, going on an 11-3 run to make it a 20-17 game. Golden State responded by picking up the pace, but it was largely fruitless: they got out and ran, and Jonathan Kuminga relentlessly attacked the rim, but even that usually resulted in a missed shot.
It was an excessively long quarter, thanks to a ton of fouls, a lengthy replay review, and a few random stoppages. But the Warriors persevered through it with a balanced attack: five different players scored at least five points in the frame, and the Dubs surprisingly led 32-27 after the quarter.
That quickly became a double-digit lead after the Warriors scored the first five points of the second frame. The defensive effort was still strong, but the Warriors were also getting lucky, with Milwaukee missing open look after open look. It was yet another reminder of the pendulum that is the NBA, after the Dubs couldn’t buy a three the night before.
It was an offensive struggle for much of the quarter for the Warriors, but not for lack of effort. And that effort was just enough, combined with a surprising difficult make here and there, and the Bucks continued shooting woes, to eventually push the lead to 17, before settling in at 58-44 going into halftime.
But courses tend to correct over 48 minutes, and there was an ominous feeling as the second half began that variance wouldn’t work quite as strongly in Golden State’s favor in the second half. And indeed, it didn’t. After a cold start for both teams, the Bucks rattled off triples on three straight possessions, pulling to within seven points and prompting an early Steve Kerr timeout. But out of the timeout, the Bucks scored five more points, capping a 14-0 run that made it a two-point game.
At that point, we were just five minutes into the third quarter. The Warriors had already committed as many turnovers (five) in the quarter as in the entire first half, while the Bucks had already made as many threes (four) as they had in the first half. Regression to the mean was smacking Golden State in the face, and a few minutes later, Lillard drained a three to give Milwaukee their first lead of the game. You’d be forgiven for tipping your hat to the fight, turning off the TV, and moving on with your night.
The Warriors had no such intentions, though. Unfazed, Gui Santos drained a three on the other end to retake the lead, and the fight was on. The Dubs dug deep and brought everything they had from an effort standpoint, but their talent couldn’t match their fight. They simply couldn’t get open looks, and finished the quarter with a whopping 10 turnovers.
With under a minute remaining in the third quarter, they trailed 76-70 and hope was fading fast. And then, as sometimes happens in this blissful sport, everything changed in a hurry.
An errant pass led to Buddy Hield collecting a steal and Hield, eyeing a two-for-one, pulled up in transition for a three, which sailed through the net. It left enough time for Milwaukee to attempt a two-for-one of their own, but a missed shot offered Kuminga a chance in transition, and he earned a trip to the free throw line, making both. The Dubs got one more stop, and it looked like they’d go into the fourth down just one point … but Butler made magic happen, rushing up the court and baiting Gary Trent Jr. into a foul on a deep three-point attempt right before the buzzer sounded.
It looked like a poorly-called foul, and Milwaukee immediately challenged. Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike used the dead time to prepare fans for the inevitable overturning of the call, but the refs caught something we all missed: Trent’s fingers grazing Butler’s elbow as he rose up. The call was upheld, Butler made all three shots and, thanks to a miraculous 8-0 run in the final minute, the Warriors somehow led 78-76 going into the final quarter.
They were hell bent on keeping that momentum. The first bucket of the frame? Butler again getting fouled on a three, this time making the field goal and completing the four-point play. The second bucket of the quarter? Butler bully-balling his way into the paint for a short step-back J. A few possessions later, the Warriors forced a turnover and Hield again drained a transition three, capping a 16-0 run that had stunningly pushed the lead back to double digits.
They were playing with endless amounts of intensity, relishing the challenge on both ends of the court. But again, the lack of firepower with Curry sidelined started to show up. Butler was putting the team on his back, but that often led to difficult shots that he couldn’t make. The offense completely evaporated but, thanks to tremendous defense from every single player who took the court, the Warriors were somehow clinging to a lead.
The game had slowed to a brutal grind with a few minutes left. It felt like the Dubs hadn’t scored in ages, and Milwaukee was within three points with under three minutes remaining. Green, still playing spectacular defense on Antetokounmpo, was playing with five fouls. It was a matter of who could finally find a way to make a bucket.
Podziemski, in his return game and against his hometown team, was that player, draining a a three with 2:15 remaining to push the lead to six points. They locked in on defense, got a stop, and Butler found Gary Payton II for a push shot from the right block, expanding the lead to eight points with 1:37 remaining, and forcing the Bucks to call one final, last-ditch timeout.
It didn’t work. Lillard missed a layup out of the timeout, and Podziemski drained another three on the other end to seal the deal. Neither team would score again, giving the Warriors a thrilling — and shocking — 104-93 win.
Butler paced the way, finishing with 24 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, while making all 11 of his free throws. Podziemski (17), Hield (15), and Post (14) all carried the offense at times, each finishing with stellar efficiency.
But while the box score won’t show it, Green and Moody were arguably the heroes of the game for their tireless and brilliant defense against a pair of Hall of Fame-bound talents. With Curry sidelined, the Warriors needed to win with defense and toughness, and they did exactly that.
Golden State improved to 5-1 on the home-stand, which concludes on Thursday when they host the Toronto Raptors. Presumably Curry will be back for that game, and hopefully the team can build on a mightily impressive win.
