With their post-season goals quickly becoming a stain in the distance, the Warriors called for a return from the fourth quarter that allowed them to breathe a few days.
Thanks to a 122-121 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night at Chase Center, the Warriors lost their tries, with some winning home games to appear later this week.
The Warriors trailed 113-103 with 4:31 left before concluding with a 19-8 outburst that ended when Kelly Oubre Jr. made a few free throws with 7.7 seconds left to offer the winning margin.
Steph Curry scored a game-high 41 points, on 14-of-21 shooting from the field and 5-of-10 off the arc.
Here are three observations from a game in which the Warriors (24-27) took advantage of the Bucks (32-18) without the dual reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was injured by the knee.
Wiseman gets cheeky
In the aftermath of a few sub-matches, the rookie has heard it from all angles over the past few weeks. He even says he ignores the negative snippet of social media. However, this action should bring a few days of calm.
Wiseman plays with an attitude and purposefulness and puts his third career double-double … in the first half, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. No less impressive, he had no turnover and no errors in those 16 minutes.
After a low-impact second half, Wiseman finished with 13 points, on 6-of-13 shooting, 10 rebounds and two assists.
The first half was the J-Wise that the Warriors, players and coaches and managers, had been waiting for and insisted he come. If Wiseman brings this energy level to a constant basis, the numbers are likely to rise and the noise from outside will fade.
Even with a few defensive rotations missed, the first half was Wiseman’s most encouraging piece in any game so far.
Warriors overcome Wiggins’ loss in important game
The Warriors felt they needed an absence, or something close, in the game between Andrew Wiggins and two-time All-Star Khris Middleton. They got nothing of the sort.
Middleton outscored Wiggins 28-9 and were the catalyst on four minutes of the third quarter in which Milwaukee wiped out a two-point deficit and built up an eight-point lead.
Middleton scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the quarter, over nine minutes, while Wiggins was scoreless on 0-out-5 shooting.
Wiggins was 4-out-15 for the evening, and missed an open three-point lead in the final seconds. Middleton’s total was on 10-of-19 shooting, including 2-of-4 from distance.
Insofar as Wiggins has been shooting so well since the All Star break last month, it has been a discouraging turn for the Warriors.
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Warriors’ defense continues to slide
When the Warriors were at their best, it was because their fierce defense caused their greedy attack. Defense was and is their best hope to get beyond this slump.
First, however, they must find it. It did not appear in this game.
The Bucks shot 51.8 percent from the field, including an astonishing 43.8 percent from deep. That the Warriors went through so many offensive dry spells was largely due to the failure to stop.
It is the fifth opponent in seven games to shoot better than 50 percent against the Warriors, who have lost four of those five games.
The group that offered the best defense in the fourth quarter in the NBA in February was evaporated before a rumor surfaced late in this game.
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