Curry's Return Marks Return to Win Column
With two 10-seeds battling at the Chase Center, the side with the returning two-time NBA MVP got the edge.
In Stephen Curry’s return to the floor after a five-game absence because of a tailbone injury, the Golden State Warriors (23-24) defeated the Chicago Bulls (19-26) by a score of 116-102 on Monday, helping Steve Kerr’s squad avoid a five-game skid.
Curry led all scorers with 32 points on 11-of-24 shooting and six 3-pointers, and the officiating helped the game fly by, with only 20 total free throws taken in the contest.
Starting the game with a missed reverse-layup, Curry would hit a right-wing triple to mark his return to action. Curry scored a game-high 13 points on three 3-pointers in the first quarter, and a 15-5 closing run from Golden State in a period without any committed fouls gave the Warriors a 34-29 lead.
The contest marked the first game Curry had played in since guards Nico Mannion and Jordan Poole returned from the G League Bubble, allowing Poole to share minutes at the end of the first quarter with Curry and then hit the floor as the lead guard with Mannion in the second.
With Poole and Mannion getting playing time, the contest was knotted up at 43 points apiece with 5:30 left in the first half before Curry reentered. With help from a bailout triple from the logo by Draymond Green at the end of the shot clock, the Warriors would take a 65-60 lead into the break.
Golden State also had four double-digit scorers in the first half, with Curry, Wiggins, James Wiseman and Kelly Oubre Jr. carrying the load as the bench chipped in just eight first-half points. Green would cross the 10-point threshold in the second half, putting all five starters in double-digits.
Wiggins and Curry would trade off being in rhythm in the third quarter, notching groups of baskets while Chicago rookie Patrick Williams kept the Golden State defense honest with a couple made jumpers of his own. Andrew Wiggins would finish the night second on the team in scoring with 21 points.
Another make from distance by Green – who finished the game with a season-high three triples – and a pair of midrange jumpers from Kent Bazemore gave the Warriors a 96-85 lead they would not relinquish in the fourth.
Bazemore, Poole and Kevon Looney would prevent the Bulls from gaining much traction to start the last quarter as Curry rested, stretching the lead to 110-93 when Curry returned to the floor more than halfway through the final quarter. He would be lifted soon after as the game was in hand.
Coming off of rough recent outings, Wiseman was matched up with newly-acquired center Nikola Vucevic, who had been traded for after making his third All-Star appearance with the Orlando Magic earlier this season.
Vucevic provided a pick-and-pop threat with the ability to finish inside, while Golden State looked to involve Wiseman via the lob early, and the former had 21 points and nine rebounds, both team-highs. Wiseman had 12 points and finished with four blocks.
The Bulls’ other All-Star – guard Zach LaVine – had 33 points in the two teams’ only other meeting this season before Damion Lee won the game for the Warriors at the buzzer. LaVine was made into a volume shooter Monday, ending with just a dozen points on 4-of-16 shooting.
Additionally, despite being out-shot from the field for the entire contest, Golden State would force 19 turnovers from the team which led the league in giveaways entering the game.
The Warriors’ will have their next three games on the road, beginning Thursday in Miami at 5 p.m..