San Francisco – Klay Thompson ended his shooting slump and scored a season-high 38 points to help the Warriors beat the defending champs, Milwaukee Bucks 122-109. Thompson’s “hot” hand helped Golden State pull away in the second period after he scored 17 points.
This was his second 30-point game of the season, on 14-of-21 from the field and 8-from-13 from the three-point range. Thompson hit 5 3s in the second and scored 17 points in 17 minutes. Thompson has been hard on himself to do better each game, tonight he felt good and it showed.
“He’s so hard on himself and wants so badly to succeed,” said Steve Kerr. “I thought he just let the game come to him early. He didn’t hunt shots. I thought over the last few games, he’s been taking tough shots early, which has kept him from getting into a rhythm like tonight.”
“I was eager for a night like this,” Thompson said. “But a mid-season shooting slump is not going to kill my ego, I’m still going to go out there and compete.
I really wanted 40 points, 38 is great but 40 just sounds better. But whatever, it was a fun night at the office to say the least.”
Milwaukee held Stephen Curry to 5 points on four shots made in the first quarter. Curry was shut down the entire game but that didn’t stop his teammates from exploding on offense. Jordan Poole who is becoming the player to watch scored 30 points and had 6 rebounds and 5 assists. He went 9-for-16 from the field and 5-for-10 from the arc.
“You have to accept the challenge,” said Poole. “They wouldn’t put me out there if they didn’t believe I could go out there and make an impact. We were able to get the job done today.”
“I know he’s got the potential to be an All-Star,” Kerr said on Poole. “I keep telling him, don’t settle for Sixth Man of the Year. Be an All-Star!”
Poole returned to the starting lineup and he didn’t disappoint. He got off to a great start and hit 5 3s on the night. Poole had 7 points in the first when the Warriors went on an 11-0 run to start the game. Andrew Wiggins finished with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Curry finished with 8 points and eight assists. He took only seven shots on the night.
Milwaukee’s defense on Curry was good but Golden State’s defense on the Bucks was phenomenal. Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo 31 points, Milwaukee got outrebounded in the second half and dug a hole too deep to catch the surging Warriors.
“It’s crazy when an MVP only has eight points and we still win against a really, really, really good team,” Poole said.
NOTES
James Wiseman will play his second game with the G-League Santa Cruz Warriors tomorrow night at Chase Center. Many of the coaches and players will be in attendance. Wiseman has been out all season recovering from knee surgery and may join the team as early as next week.
Draymond Green anticipates his return for the Warriors home game on Monday against the Washington Wizards.
Photo by Warriors/Twitter
