MILWAUKEE – A substantial number of the Milwaukee faithful attended Thursday night’s game at Fiserv Forum dressed in colorful Halloween costumes.
But nothing in the stands were as frightening as Milwaukee’s offense in the Warriors 120-110 loss. Even without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, a late scratch with a left knee injury, the Bucks got whatever shot they wanted.
And it was a long-forgotten Golden State castoff who led the way.
Ryan Rollins had himself quite a game against his old team, scoring the Bucks’ first six points on a pair of 3-pointers and putting up 32 points overall. He nailed a 3-pointer late in the fourth to push the lead to 10.
Meanwhile, Steph Curry put up 27 points to lead the Warriors. Jonathan Kuminga scored 24 and Jimmy Butler added 23.
Rollins was the Warriors’ No. 44 selection in the 2022 draft, and played 12 games in his rookie season. He was then a part of the Jordan Poole-Chris Paul trade, one that sent the guard to Washington.
“He just needed to play, he needed experience, and we couldn’t really offer that given where we were,” Kerr said before the game. “I’m really happy for Ryan.”
He was coming off a career-best 25 points against Cleveland. With Kevin Porter Jr. out with injury, Rollins made the most of his starting opportunity.
The Bucks went on a 10-0 run to end the first quarter, and then another 12-0 run late in the third quarter. Even though the Warriors actually took a 79-75 lead as late as 3:40 left in the third quarter, the Bucks did not panic.
Golden State (4-2) will try to get back on the winning track in Indianapolis on Saturday.
Bucks 3-point bonanza
Milwaukee has built its entire offensive identity around orbiting Antetokounmpo with 3-point specialists who are willing to launch with even the slightest bit of space. They fire up an average of 38 3-pointers per night.
The Greek superstar was not in the lineup, but that shooting remained. Even without his space-bending drives collapsing the defense, the Bucks found ways to create open looks on Rollins, Kyle Kuzma or Cole Anthony drives.
The Bucks shot 13 of 38 from behind the arc Thursday.
The Warriors’ defense, coming off a game against the Clippers where they allowed only 79 points, looked every bit like the unit playing its third game in four nights. Rotations were anything but timely.
Steph’s streak comes to end
Even the best shooter in NBA history is not perfect. Curry clanked a free throw in the fourth quarter, his first miss from the foul line this season.
It snapped his consecutive make streak at 57, the second-longest of his career. He had previously made 80 in a row between 2019 and 2021.
