Slam Dunk Central

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The current road trip has, for the most part, been kind to the Golden State Warriors.? But there was a Homer Simpson moment along the way.? Prior to Saturday’s game between the Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks, as is customary among both teams before tipoff, the teams have to submit their active and inactive players.? Well guess what?? The Warriors forgot to add a player period to the list.? Specifically, they forgot to add forward Matt Barnes to the list, therefore, he was ineligible to play.

That allowed some players who get very little playing time to play a bit more - and it didn’t affect the Warriors’ shooting at all.? They shot 54.4% from the floor, powering them to a convincing 119-99 win over the Bucks at the Bradley Center.? And despite scoring 119 points, they only took 79 shots in getting there, so I wouldn’t classify this contest as a run-and-gun affair.? Golden state and Milwaukee were fairly even in the first quarter, with the Bucks holding an early 27-22 lead after one period.

That’s when the Warriors’ hot shooting began to kick in as they took the lead, 50-48, on rookie C.J. Watson’s layup with 1:37 left in the first half; they would hang onto a slim 53-52 edge going into halftime.? Golden State would open the second half by going on a big 23-9 run by making its first 7 baskets and forcing 5 Bucks’ turnovers which led to 13 points.? Milwaukee would later rattle off 7 consecutive points to pull to within 78-70, but the Warriors ended the third quarter with a 14-2 run to lead 94-74 entering the 4th quarter - basically icing the game for Golden State.

Golden State had 6 players in double-digits, led by Al Harrington with 27 points - including 5 treys - 7 rebounds and 3 steals; Andris Biedrins had an excellent effort as well as he scored 20 with 10 rebounds and 3 steals.? Baron Davis chipped in 19, along with 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals.? Milwaukee was led by Michael Redd with 24 points, while Andrew Bogut added 21 and 10 rebounds; Mo Williams chipped in with a solid effort, scoring 19 with 8 boards and 6 assists.? Golden State (25-17), winners of 6 of their last 8, hope to extend that hot streak when they return home to host the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night.? Milwaukee (16-24) travels to the Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Hornets - also on Monday.