A game after their most impressive victory of the season, a Finals rematch victory over the Celtics, the Warriors regressed back to their middling early-season results in Milwaukee.
In a matchup of the previous two NBA champions, the Warriors were left exasperated by the officiating and disheartened by their own play. Golden State picked up five technical fouls in frustration, got bodied in the paint and couldn’t handle Milwaukee’s frontcourt in a shellacking.
Giannis Antetokuonmpo dropped 30 points and grabbed 12 boards, dominating despite taking too many outside jumpers. Bobby Portis provided 25 off the bench, punking Anthony Lamb and the rest of Golden State’s reserves.
Milwaukee grabbed 18 more rebounds, outscored the Warriors 48 to 30 in the paint and made 11 more foul shots than them.
Steve Kerr left Stephen Curry on the bench during the fourth quarter because the Bucks’ lead was already out of reach. The 128-111 loss makes the Warriors 2-12 on the road and 14-14 on the season.
Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s defeat.
Free throw disparity
The Warriors entered Tuesday with the worst foul shooting differential in the league, with opponents averaging 7.1 more free throws than them per game. They foul too much on defense. They don’t get to the line enough on offense.
But the Bucks game started particularly severely. The Bucks shot nine free throws in the first quarter. The Warriors shot none.
The Bucks shot 13 free throws before Golden State got to the line. Kevon Looney earned GSW’s first free throws with 3:57 in the second quarter — 20 game minutes after tipoff.
That was partly due to Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole and Steve Kerr each picking up technical fouls for arguing non-calls. Each of their gripes had merit. Complaining didn’t help things.
Looney’s two free throws were the only ones the Warriors shot in the entire first half.
In the third quarter, the Warriors appeared to argue just about every borderline call. At times it looked like they were more interested in debating with officials than playing basketball.
Jonathan Kuminga behaved particularly aggrieved, and he recorded a technical in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. It was GSW’s fifth T of the game.
The Bucks finished with 32 free throw attempts compared to Golden State’s 19 — mirroring the Warriors’ season-long trend.
Milwaukee’s gold standard defense
Not only did the Bucks defend without fouling, they defended with tenacity. Being able to block or disrupt shots, both on the perimeter and inside, legally has always been a key to defending. Forcing teams into taking shots from areas they shouldn’t — and by players who might be less dangerous than others — is the key to modern defense. The Bucks have mastered both.
Brook Lopez, a contender for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year Award, constantly altered shots inside and upset some of Golden State’s actions in drop coverage. Moments after an insane Antetokounmpo dunk, he swatted Klay Thompson’s layup attempt out of bounds with authority. In the third, he swallowed up a Poole drive, forcing a travel.
The Bucks sagged off non-shooters like Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga, allowing Lopez and Antetokounmpo to linger in the paint.
Milwaukee limited the Warriors to 30 points in the lane and scored 48 itself.
The Bucks focused on getting the ball out of Stephen Curry’s hands. Curry didn’t get a shot attempt off until seven minutes into the first quarter; at that point, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson combined for 11 field goal attempts.
Milwaukee ran Curry off the 3-point line and showed a rare amount of bodies at him. With Jevon Carter, Khris Middleton and Wesley Matthews — plus Antetokuonmpo and Lopez lurking — the Bucks are uniquely equipped to make Curry’s life hard. They took away his airspace on the perimeter and challenged with length once he broke the paint.
Curry got his 20 points, but went 6-for-17 and made just 3 of his 10 attempts from 3.
The Bucks have the best defensive rating in the league for a reason.
Bobby Portis, a problem
Bobby Portis has been one of the most effective bench players in the NBA this year, so giving Warriors second unit fits wasn’t a shock.
Portis came into Tuesday ranked 11th in rebounds per game (10.3) despite coming off the bench and standing 6-foot-10. He plays with tremendous energy and edge.
The Warriors, and particularly their reserves, had no chance. Portis started 6-for-7 from the field. He did much of his damage in the post, either backing down or facing up against Anthony Lamb, JaMychal Green or a size mismatch.
Portis finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes. He missed just four of his 15 field goal attempts.
If the Warriors were to write Santa a letter, perhaps they’d ask for more reliable size off the bench. Perhaps that, someday, can arrive not via trade or buyout or gift-down-the-chimney, but from Santa Cruz.