Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks is fouled by Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half of a game at Fiserv Forum on December 13, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Stacy Revere/Getty Images/AFP
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 30 points and led a parade to the free-throw line as the Milwaukee Bucks blitzed the visiting Golden State Warriors 128-111 on Tuesday night in a nationally televised game that was marred by eight technical fouls.
Antetokounmpo went 11 for 17 at the line and his teammates made all 15 of their foul shots as the Bucks ran up a 26-15 advantage in free-throw points over a Warriors team that saw four players and coach Steve Kerr pick up technicals.
Stephen Curry had a team-high 20 points — and one of the “T’s” — in 27 minutes for Golden State, which was opening its longest trip of the season, a six-game stretch.
“I was already mad at several non-calls in the paint,” Kerr said. “I felt like we were on the bad end of things to start the game. And then Steph Curry gets hit on the head on a three-point shot.
“That needs to be called,” Kerr said, adding that Curry’s unusual intense reaction was indication enough that a foul occurred.
“If Steph gets a technical, he definitely got fouled,” Kerr said.
Using 10 early 3-pointers, the Warriors managed to hang within 58-52 after a Jordan Poole layup with 1:21 remaining in the first half.
But the Bucks got baskets from Antetokounmpo, Wesley Matthews and Bobby Portis to finish the period on a six-point run to double their advantage, then got another hoop from Antetokounmpo and a 3-pointer from Khris Middleton to open the third quarter and complete an 11-0 run bridging the intermission to open a 69-52 advantage.
🦌 30 PTS
🦌 12 REB
🦌 5 AST
🦌 #FearTheDeer WGiannis dropped a 30-point double-double to lead the @Bucks to the win! pic.twitter.com/GybN4f1Xcr
— NBA (@NBA) December 14, 2022
The Warriors never got much closer, opting instead to rest key players late for the second night of a back-to-back in Indiana on Wednesday.
Antetokounmpo’s 15th 30-point outing of the season came despite just 9-for-26 shooting from the field and 1-for-6 accuracy from beyond the arc. He even got nailed with a technical after a second 10-second violation at the free-throw line.
Antetokounmpo completed a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds, while Portis did the same with 25 points and 11 boards off the bench. Middleton returned from a sprained ankle suffered in Sunday’s loss at Houston to contribute 20 points to the win, while Grayson Allen had 16 on a perfect shooting night — 6 for 6 from the field, 2 for 2 on 3s and 2 for 2 at the line.
The Bucks, who had won four in a row before the debacle at Houston, shot 54.9 percent overall, well better than Golden State (40.0).
Poole, a former Milwaukee prep standout, chipped in with 18 points for the Warriors, who were coming off a home win over the Boston Celtics. Jonathan Kuminga finished with 19 points, Donte DiVincenzo 16 and Klay Thompson 14.
Kevon Looney, another of Golden State’s Milwaukee natives, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go with five points.