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MILWAUKEE: Khris Middleton scored 31 points and the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Golden State Warriors 138-99 on Friday (Saturday in Manila) to win their first home game on Christmas Day in more than half a century.
Middleton shot 10 of 15 overall and 6 of 8 from 3-point range, leading a solid performance from deep for his team. He had 58 points in his first two games of the season.
“The weeks before the season, I tried to do a good job, to work on my game,” Middleton said. “So far, it has worked for me.”
Milwaukee completed 20 of 37 3-point attempts, while Golden State was 10 of 45.
The Warriors were outscored by 65 points in their first two games, the second-highest total in NBA history through two games at 71 points for the 1987-88 Clippers. Golden State lost 125-99 at Brooklyn in its first season.
This was the second most uneven score of any Christmas Day game in NBA history. The Syracuse Nationals defeated the New York Knicks 162-100 on December 25, 1960.
“The thing that disappointed me the most is that we had two good practice days with our execution working to get into our offense and do hard cuts and reads, and we didn’t execute much,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It was a bit scattered and disorganized. I am disappointed by that. I have to take the blame for that. I’m the head coach. “
Milwaukee’s only other Christmas game was during the franchise’s inaugural season in 1968. The Bucks toured for Christmas the past two seasons, losing in Philadelphia in 2019 and winning in New York in 2018.
Bucks players got a Christmas surprise before the game when they received video messages from their families in a move orchestrated by team officials.
“It was definitely the best gift I received today,” said Bucks guard Jrue Holiday.
They then came out and delivered a dominant performance to bounce back from a 122-121 loss in the season opener in Boston in which Celtics star Jayson Tatum scored a 3-pointer and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a potential free throw. in the tie. final second.
Antetkounmpo had 15 points and 13 rebounds against Golden State, but the two-time reigning NBA MVP shot 4 of 15 from the floor and 7 of 15 from the foul line.
Stephen Curry scored 19 points for Golden State, and rookie James Wiseman had 18. Andrew Wiggins had 12. Jordan Poole and Brad Wanamaker added 11 each.
Donte DiVincenzo and DJ Augustin each scored 13 for Milwaukee. Holiday had 12 and Bobby Portis added 10.
TIPS
Warriors: F Draymond Green was out for the second straight game due to a sore right foot. … This was the twelfth time Kerr was part of a game on Christmas Day. He has played in five and trained in seven. … The Warriors fell to 13-17 in the games on Christmas Day. This was his eighth consecutive appearance on Christmas Day.
Bucks: Augustin made his debut for the Bucks after missing the Celtics game due to a left calf strain. Augustin, 33, signed with the Bucks last month after spending the past four seasons with Orlando.
CURRY MILESTONE WATCH
Curry increased his career points total to 16,458, beating Rick Barry (16,447) to move to second on the Warriors list. Wilt Chamberlain holds the franchise record after scoring 17,783 points for the Warriors.
Curry was 2 of 10 from 3-point range to give him 2,499 career 3s. The two-time MVP is looking to join Ray Allen (2,973) and Reggie Miller (2,560) as the only NBA players to make at least 2,500 triples.
Curry hit 5 of 5 from the line to extend his consecutive successful free throw streak to 55. He is chasing Barry’s franchise record of 60 in a row from 1976-77.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Warriors: Visit Chicago on Sunday to continue your four-game journey to open the season. Golden State does not play its first home game until Jan. 1 against Portland.
Bucks: Visit the New York Knicks on Sunday to open a three-game swing on the road.
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