(Basketball news) The Golden State Warriors snapped the Phoenix Suns winning streak as they beat them 123-112. For the Warriors, Klay Thompson scored 33 of his 38 points in the first half, Stephen Curry added 23 points as Jordan Poole had 20 points and six assists off the bench for the defending champions while Kevon Looney helped them win their eighth straight home game with nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Golden State is 29-7 at home but 7-26 on the road. For the Suns, Devin Booker scored 32 points and Deandre Ayton had 27 points and 12 rebounds as Kevin Durant again missed facing his former team with fans present in San Francisco, sitting out a third straight game for the Suns because of a sprained left ankle.
“There’s always a little bit of extra motivation when you got smacked a couple times against a certain team but it’s more so about our own focus,” Curry said.’’
“We knew how big a game it was and Klay knew how big it was and came out and set the tone,” coach Steve Kerr said.
“Their shot-making in the first quarter in general put us in the hole,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “There were a few breakdowns because of their pace but I didn’t think it was a failing grade.”
The Milwaukee Bucks beat the in-form Sacramento Kings 133-124. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 46 points and 12 rebounds while Khris Middleton scored 31 points and Brook Lopez added 23 as they are on the verge of becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season. They came in needing a win and a Miami loss, but the Heat beat the Jazz.
For the Kings, Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists for his 10th triple-double of the season as he has a franchise-record 54 double-doubles, which leads the NBA this season. De’Aaron Fox scored 35 points to lead the Kings, and Kevin Huerter had 17 of his 28 in the fourth quarter. With this result the Bucks extended their best league record to 49-19 as they are currently just one win away from securing a playoff berth.
“It was a really fun environment to play in,” Lopez said. “Sacramento always has great fans, great team this year. You get the cowbells and everything like that and all stuff I remember. It was a really fun atmosphere.”
“Their team is very good for us to take our foot off the accelerator,” Sabonis said. “That’s what we did in the second half, unacceptable.”
“It’s unfortunate,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think it was a great game. I was so impressed by Sacramento and they way they play. I’m not going to say anything about what did or didn’t happen.”
Also read: NBA: Knicks get back to winning ways while the Nets shock the Nuggets
