Golden St. led from the start, but it was a fabulous finish that really felled the Bucks in a 119-96 loss. The Warriors rocked the Bucks 37-15 in the fourth quarter, turning a close game into little more than a reel of Golden St. highlights.
Like the night before, the Bucks couldn't guard high or low, inside or outside. Andris Biedrins controlled the painted area with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks while guard C.J. Watson hit 7-11 from the field for 19 points along with seven boards and four assists.
The 25-point loss is the most lopsided defeat of the season for the Bucks, breaking the previous night's 15-point downer in the desert easily.
Three Bucks
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Michael Redd. Maybe Dime Magazine was on to something when they listed Redd among players who would thrive under Don Nelson, the old Milwaukee ballcoach. Redd was comfortable in the up-tempo pace, cutting through a buttery Golden St. defense, pulling up from outside, and getting to the line. He finished with 27 points and hit 8-9 'throws but coughed up the ball four times.
- Charlie Villanueva. He felt the wrath of Golden St. blocks more than a couple times, including a particularly thunderous rejection by Biedrins. But CV came off the bench to lead the Bucks in rebounds with 10 and had four blocks all his own.
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Andrew Bogut. For the second night in a row, Bogut was efficient offensively, hitting 5-8 for 10 points along with nine rebounds. But for the second night in a row, he played under 27 minutes and was thoroughly outdone by the opposing team's center, in this case Andris Biedrins.
Three Numbers
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39. Marco Bellinell (15), Kelenna Azubuike (13), and Ronny Turiaf (11) combined for 39 points on a sizzling 14-20 (.700) from the field off the bench for the Warriors.
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37. The Bucks were embarrassed a bit in a 37-15 fourth quarter beatdown.
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4. Charlie Villanueva blocked four shots for Milwaukee, but so did Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf for the Warriors.
Three Good
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Handle with care. The Bucks were turnover free, at least in the first quarter, and the point guards continue to take care of the ball. The Luke Ridnour/Ramon Sessions point guard duo has combined for 32 assists and four turnovers in the last three losses.
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CV. Sure, the Bucks aren't winning, but at least Charlie Villanueva is putting together a pretty decent December. His shots wouldn't quite fall tonight, but he continues to rebounds at a great rate and even helped throw a little block party. With Allen out and Luc Mbah a Moute struggling, the recent losses would have been much worse without productive minutes from CV at the four.
- Coming home. Finally, the Bucks get to depart from the sunny west coast and come back home to slippery, slushy, snow-white Milwaukee to play the Pacers on Saturday.
Three Bad
- California dreamin'. The Bucks will have nightmares about Cali after their efforts against the Lakers and Warriors. Golden St. showed off plenty of showy showtime highlights against Milwaukee, igniting a crowd always ready to burst at ORACLE Arena. Andris Biedrins went full extension to emphatically stuff Villanueva in the third. Jamal Crawford beat the buzzer to end the first quarter with a deep two, and he crossed up Ridnour before missing a jumper in the third. And then it was Marco Bellinelli who trotted around Milwaukee's globe in the fourth quarter. First, he crossed Ridnour and dished to C.J. Watson for a corner three. Then he hit a fading trick shot over the corner of the backboard as he fell out of bounds.
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Mellow offense. The Bucks played the worst defensive team in the NBA and didn't score as many points in any quarter as Carmelo Anthony did tonight against the Timberwolves. To the east, 'Melo hit for 33 points in the third quarter, topping Milwaukee's 31 second and third quarter outputs. The Bucks failed to hit the century mark, just the fourth time a Warrior opponent didn't get to 100 this year.
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First round rooks. Both teams started rookies, but not the first rounders. Joe Alexander and Anthony Randolph were atop BrewHoopers' pre-draft wish list. The rookie forwards, chosen eighth and fourteenth overall respectively, totaled two points each. Meanwhile, second round choice Mbah a Moute started but continued a desultory December while undrafted guard Anthony Morrow hit 16 points starting at the aptly named shooting guard position.