Warriors Run Over Bulls

2016.01.21 – The Warriors closed out their road trip on a winning note, earning a 125-94 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

Stephen Curry led Golden State with 25 points and 11 assists to go along with seven rebounds. Klay Thompson notched 20 points and five boards, while Harrison Barnes added 19 points.

Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa all scored in double-digits off the bench. With the victory, the Warriors improve to 39-4 on the season.

Golden State couldn’t buy a basket at the start of the game, but once their shots started falling, Chicago’s fate was sealed. The Warriors missed their first five shots of the game, four of which were three-point attempts, while Derrick Rose staked the Bulls to an early 4-0 lead.

Harrison Barnes’ jumper broke the seal, after which the Dubs made four of their next six shots to take their first lead of the game, up 11-10 with 7:19 remaining in the first quarter.

Jimmy Butler’s jumpshot 80 seconds later would tie the game at 14, but that’s as close as Chicago would get for the rest of the night.

The Warriors would outscore the Bulls 20-4 through the remainder of the first frame to take a 34-18 lead into the second quarter.

Things could have been even worse for Chicago if not for Rose, who made five of his first six shot attempts of the game prior to being subbed out before the Warriors’ run.

Rose would carry his hot shooting into the second quarter, converting three of his next four shots to pull Chicago within 43-26 with 8:46 remaining in the half.

The Bulls would score seven-straight points in a span of 57 seconds to cut the deficit to 47-35 with 6:25 left, but the Warriors’ balanced scoring attack would eventually rebuild Golden State’s lead.

Andre Iguodala’s dunk with 22.9 seconds remaining closed out the scoring in the quarter and sent the game into halftime with the Warriors holding a 63-44 advantage.

At the time, Golden State had seven players with six-or-more points, compared to just two for Chicago. Of the Warriors’ 26 made field goals in the first half, 20 came by way of an assist.

The third quarter would follow a similar pattern as the second, only Rose found some help in the form of Jimmy Butler.

After Rose banked in the opening basket of the second half, Butler, who had made only one of his seven first half field goal attempts, scored the next 13 points for Chicago, eventually pulling the Bulls within 73-59 with 4:11 left in the quarter.

But, after Bobby Portis added a jump shot, the Warriors would respond with an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to rebuild their lead once again.

Following another basket by Butler, Golden State would score the final three points of the quarter to take a 87-63 lead into the fourth and final frame.

The Bulls would outscore the Warriors 8-0 in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, prompting Luke Walton to call timeout with Golden State leading 87-71 with 10:14 remaining in the game.

Once the Dubs returned to the court, they would not allow the Bulls to get any closer. The two sides would essentially play it even for the next three minutes, as Golden State marginally expanded their advantage to 97-80 with 7:05 left to play.

From there, the Warriors would go on a 15-8 run over the ensuing four minutes to put the game out of reach. After E’Twaun Moore made consecutive baskets for Chicago to pull the Bulls within 116-92 with 2:06 remaining, Marreese Speights and Ian Clark combined for an 11-0 Warriors’ run to take their largest lead of the game with 28.7 seconds left.

Moore would score the final basket of the game, as the Warriors coasted to the 125-94 victory. With the win, the Warriors improve to 39-4 on the season, and including their 132-98 victory over the Cavaliers on Monday, have won back-to-back road games by 30-or-more points for the first time since 1972-73.

They’ll look to carry the momentum into their next game when they host the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at Oracle Arena.

JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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