Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and Draymond Green (23) go for a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, in Chicago. AP
CHICAGO, Illinois—Stephen Curry scored 25 points, and the Golden State Warriors made it look easy again, beating the Chicago Bulls 125-94 on Wednesday night.
Curry tied a season high with 11 assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
Klay Thompson added 20 points. Harrison Barnes scored 19, and the defending champions simply outclassed Chicago after embarrassing LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Monday night. The Warriors built a big lead in the first quarter and never were threatened after that, improving their league-best road record to 20-4.
Derrick Rose scored 29 and Jimmy Butler added 23 points after a slow start for Chicago. Pau Gasol was a nonfactor with one point and the Bulls missed 19 of 20 3-pointers on the way to their fifth loss in seven games.
Two nights after they pounded Cleveland in the arena where they captured the championship last spring, the Warriors wasted little time seizing control in this one.
Playing in the shadows of a “72” banner commemorating the 1995-96 Bulls’ record-setting season, the Warriors continued their assault on the seemingly unattainable wins mark.
Golden State was trailing by one midway through the first quarter when a cutting Curry converted a three-point play. Rose, who committed the foul, got subbed out after a strong start. And in a flash, the Warriors broke this one open.
They were up 34-18 going into the second and led by as many as 21 before heading to the locker room with a 63-44 cushion.
Curry had 15 points and seven assists in the half. Barnes scored 11 and the Warriors simply put on a clinic in ball movement that led to 30 points in the paint.
Rose scored 21 for Chicago, but the rest of the team combined for just 23 points in the half. The numbers barely describe how one-sided this was.
There were comical moments like when Chicago’s E’Twaun Moore crashed to the floor in the first quarter trying to defend a crossover by Curry, who buried a 19-foot jumper. There was a neat pass from Shaun Livingston to Leandro Barbosa for a reverse layup that made it 41-20 early in the second. There was also a somewhat scary moment when the Bulls’ Aaron Brooks tripped Rose, sending him into Curry as they raced out to defend a 3 from the corner with 4:28 left in the half.