The Chicago Bulls didn’t exactly have high hopes of springing an upset Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.
Besides owning the NBA’s best record, Golden State was coming off a loss in Sacramento on Saturday and hadn’t dropped two games in a row in nearly two years.
The Bulls, meanwhile, took the floor without Jimmy Butler, who missed his third straight game with a right-heel bruise, and Dwyane Wade, who stayed back at the hotel with a respiratory infection.
With the odds stacked against them, the Bulls weren’t embarrassed but weren’t all that competitive, either. With their usual lineup on the floor, the Warriors carried a comfortable lead most of the night, then pulled away late for a 123-92 victory.
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 28 points, while Kevin Durant scored 22 and Draymond Green had 19.
The Bulls (26-27) dropped to 2-2 on the ice-show road trip and have two games remaining — in Phoenix on Friday, then Sunday in Minnesota. Golden State (44-8) won for the 13th time in its last 15 games.
The Bulls tried an unusual starting lineup of Jerian Grant, Michael Carter-Williams, Paul Zipser, Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez. Zipser left the game in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return.
Rookie Denzel Valentine saw action for the first time since returning from his D-League assignment. Backup center Cristiano Felicio also played after missing two games with a lower-leg strain.
For a while, the Bulls were able to exploit their advantage inside. Lopez had a nice game with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, while Gibson added 15 points and 9 boards.
Lopez survived a hard fall in the third quarter when he pump-faked Warriors center JaVale McGee into the air. McGee lost his balance wrapped his arms around Lopez’s neck and both players fell to the floor hard. McGee actually got the worst of it, since Lopez fell on top of him.
Rajon Rondo rose to the occasion, finishing with 12 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Grant (12 points) and Nikola Mirotic (10) also reached double figures.
Carter-Williams, after playing maybe his two best games of the season in Butler’s place, didn’t contribute much in this game, with 3 points on 1-of-9 shooting.
The Bulls could have used more outside shooting. Valentine made a living from the 3-point line during his three games in the D-League, hitting 21 of 39 attempts. He couldn’t find his shooting touch Wednesday in Oakland, hitting 2 of 11 shots overall and 1 of 7 from behind the arc. Doug McDermott wasn’t much of a factor, scoring 4 points.
As a team, the Bulls made just 4 of 24 attempts from 3-point range, compared to 15 of 23 for the Warriors.
The Bulls trailed 55-41 at halftime and started the third quarter by losing Thompson in the corner a couple of times, where 3-point shots for him are like layups for most basketball players. The Bulls were within 91-77 early in the fourth quarter before the Warriors stepped on the gas.
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