Warriors rise to the occasion with complete effort in convincing win
over Bucks
Finally at full strength, the Warriors played a complete game

>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)

Danny Emerman is a Bay Area News Group sports reporter
By DANNY EMERMAN | demerman@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: March 6, 2024 at 9:27 p.m. | UPDATED: March 7, 2024 at 9:13 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/03/06/warriors-bucks-blowout-win-chase-center-margin-of-victory/

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.

“I really didn’t see any bad shots tonight,” Kerr said postgame. “There
were no agendas, it was just let’s go play basketball. Move the ball,
throw it to the first guy who’s open, put a lot of pressure on the
defense that way. … I thought it was a great offensive performance, and
it was really keyed by simple decision-making and passing.”

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.

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>Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga (00) makes a dunk against the
Milwaukee Bucks 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)

Milwaukee, who entered a perfect 6-0 since the All-Star break, is 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 — as 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.

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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.

>Golden State Warriors' Trayce Jackson-Davis (32) blocks a shot to
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the fourth quarter of a
NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, March
6, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Jackson-Davis had studied some of Blake Griffin’s battles against
Antetokounmpo, taking note of how he sat on the two-time MVP’s spin move
and otherwise giving him space. The homework paid off.

“Never faced anyone like him before,” Jackson-Davis said postgame. “Have
length like that, as fast as he is, as explosive.”

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.

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>Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) gestures in the fourth
quarter of a NBA game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area
News Group)