Warriors vs. Bulls: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season
Many came into Thursday wondering how the Golden State Warriors would look in their first game without Kevin Durant. It turns out...not so great.
Jimmy Butler scored 22 points, and the Warriors' three-point shooting went dry, as the Chicago Bulls earned a 94-87 win Thursday night. It is the 18th consecutive home game the Bulls have won while playing on TNT, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
The Warriors scored just 36 second-half points on their way to setting a season-low point total. They shot 38.6 percent overall, including a disconcerting 6-of-30 clip from beyond the arc. Their poor performance drew some tongue-in-cheek analysis from the Twittersphere:
This is the first time Golden State has lost back-to-back games in nearly two full calendar years. Its last losing streak came in April 2015.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson saw their shots constantly clank off the rim in their first game post-Durant. They combined to shoot 3-of-22 from beyond the arc, continuing perhaps their worst three-game string since becoming teammates. The Splash Brothers are a combined 11-of-63 from three-point land in their last three contests.
Curry finished with 23 points, six rebounds and five assists. Thompson was limited to 13 points on 5-of-22 shooting. Draymond Green (12 points), Patrick McCaw (11 points) and Andre Iguodala (10 points) were also in double figures.
And if that isn't fitting of the Crying Jordan treatment, nothing is:
While those struggles aren't new, they've become magnified after Durant suffered a sprained MCL in Tuesday's loss to the Washington Wizards. Durant, who was leading the Warriors in points and rebounds, is expected to miss at least the next four weeks. The Warriors' core now shifts to the same Big Three they had during their past two NBA Finals runs, but they are lacking the same depth—a purge necessitated by Durant's arrival.
"What is this, Game 61? If you're still looking for inspiration now, you're f--ked," Green said in an interview with ESPN.com's Chris Haynes before the game.
Butler largely led the Bulls' effort, as he added six assists, five rebounds and four steals to his 22 points. He got to the free-throw line 10 times, making every attempt, and had consistent success drawing contact when needed.
Bobby Portis, continuing his post-deadline string of strong play, had 17 points and 13 rebounds. Portis has been in double figures in two straight games and is acquitting himself well with his starting role.
Dwyane Wade (12 points) and Robin Lopez (10 points) were also in double figures for the Bulls. Paul Zipser led all Chicago bench players with nine, while Rajon Rondo had eight points, three rebounds and three assists in 13 minutes.
The Bulls, winners of five of their last six games, will be back in prime time Saturday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Warriors will attempt to avoid losing three straight Sunday when they travel to New York to play the Knicks.
Postgame Reaction
Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg spoke to reporters about his team's defensive effort (via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times): "We tried to find a way to make them take as difficult a shot as possible, and we did a solid job with that. We started Jimmy [Butler] on Klay, and obviously Jimmy is one of the top defensive guards in the league. Jerian Grant in the second half did a solid job on Steph when Jimmy was on Klay. It certainly wasn’t our 15-point explosive offensive fourth quarter. We had to find a way to try and get stops to get this win, and our guys were really locked in on that end."
Butler also spoke about Curry and Thompson's struggles: "They missed a lot of shots that they usually make. But we did our job for the most part, making them take tough shots. But it's a blessing to have them miss that many shots."
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke about how the Warriors would handle post-Durant life: "You just got to deal with it, and the best way to do that is to cut your margin of error down a little bit. So the little stuff that you sometimes forget to do counts more. On a free throw for an offensive board, letting guys get into the paint, we've had some slippage the last few games and some things we've got to clean up."
