OAKLAND — He may have been sharing the floor with four All-Stars, but JaVale McGee was easily the most entertaining aspect of the Warriors 123-92 victory over the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night.
McGee was forced to exit in the third quarter after taking a hard fall, but contributed six monster dunks, scoring 16 points in just 13 minutes. All five Warriors scored in double figures, with Klay Thompson’s 28 leading the pack.
Though the Bulls had no answer for McGee rolling to the basket, the he three point line ultimately decided the game. Chicago was abysmal from deep, shooting 17.4 percent, hitting just four of their 23 attempts. For comparison, Thompson and Kevin Durant made five and six threes respectively. In all, Golden State shot 53.6 percent from downtown, going 15-for-28.
It should be noted that the Bulls really had no chance in this game, with their two best players in Jimmy Butler (heel) and Dwyane Wade (illness) sidelined, facing a Warriors team on two days rest and coming off a loss.
After arguably his worst game of the season against Sacramento where he scored just 10 points on 2-of-10 shooting, Durant came out aggressive Wednesday, jacking up five shots in the first seven minutes. McGee was just as involved, slamming home four dunks in the same amount of time. The Warriors starting lineup with McGee continues to be unguardable, currently holding the best net rating of any lineup in the league this season.
A 12-0 Warriors run defined the first quarter. Durant ended the run with a difficult and-1 layup to give Golden State a 24-11 lead. The Warriors ended the quarter up 30-17, holding the Bulls to just 33.3 percent shooting.
KD’s slithering, powerful and-1 drive caps Warriors 12-0 run pic.twitter.com/kGyHAXWstv
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 9, 2017
Golden State kept their double-digit lead into halftime, controlling the strange, choppy game in the second quarter. The only notable moment came just before the halftime buzzer, when Draymond Green added a punctuation mark to a perfectly run pick and roll with Curry.
The Steph Curry/Draymond Green pick and roll isn’t getting any easier to defend ??? pic.twitter.com/XEIp23Ys5V
— KNBR (@KNBR) February 9, 2017
McGee picked up where he left off in the first half, with two more monster dunks to open the third quarter, including a monster two-handed finish while drawing a foul. McGee’s screen on the play was almost as impressive.
Sixth (and best) dunk of the night for JaVale McGee pic.twitter.com/5VPdvH40KN
— KNBR (@KNBR) February 9, 2017
It looked like JaVale’s night might be over just moments later, when he took an extremely hard fall onto his back after colliding with Robin Lopez. JaVale limped to the locker room, but returned to the bench shortly after.
camerond_: McGee fall ESPN NBA Basketball: Bulls at Warriors https://t.co/jwZVqZkIpu pic.twitter.com/tXT9cQviqW
— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) February 9, 2017
The Warriors did all they could to keep the Bulls in the game, committing four turnovers in the third quarter, letting the Bulls get within 11, before stretching the lead back to 16.
Golden State would hold on easily in the fourth, thanks in large part to Klay Thompson, who dropped 13 in the final frame.
The Warriors will now hit the road for a three game trip, making their first stop in Memphis to face the Grizzlies on Friday. Saturday will see them head to Oklahoma City, for Durants’ first game back since leaving this summer.
NOTES:
– Recent signing Briante Weber made his debut with the Warriors Wednesday, scoring two points on 1-for-2 shooting, adding two rebounds and an assist in seven minutes.