The Golden State Warriors easily dispatched the Chicago Bulls 123-92, not once ceding the lead against a battered, beleaguered team that was without stars Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade.
It was yet another game in which JaVale McGee shined, increasingly showing that he’s more than a mere novelty act. In between, the Warriors sought to establish Kevin Durant (22 points, 16 shots) after a stretch of games in which Stephen Curry (13 points, 6 assists) got much of the rock.
After a day in which Curry made headlines by boldly rebuking the CEO of his brand, the evening didn’t have nearly as much focus on him. Instead, it was superstar counterpart Durant who saw much of the ball early on, as Golden State began with off-ball movement. Such is the tricky balance for the Warriors to strike, amid their superficially easy season. They have two superstars, one ball, and a reluctance, based on experience, toward featuring both in a pick-and-roll.
McGee, on the other hand, can opportunistically thrive regardless of how the stars divvy up possessions. McGee has been forced into starting duty by injuries to Zaza Pachulia and David West, an opportunity that seemed inconceivable back in training camp when McGee was fighting for the last spot on the roster.
“I just got to be ready faster,” McGee says about his interim starting center role. “I usually have the same routine but I know I don’t have to be ready by until the six-minute mark, so it’s kind of different.”
McGee, when playing as a reserve, treats teammates to an elaborate handshake ritual. He added, “I don’t get to get all my handshakes in before the game unfortunately.”
McGee has thrived in Golden State, taking full advantage of the spacing around him and making subtle defensive improvements. Of course, there is the occasional “JaVale” moment where he’ll, say, bite on a Robin Lopez pump fake so badly that he’ll land on him. But such plays are forgivable when McGee is putting up 13 points in his 16 minutes.
In any event, McGee paid for leaping too early, as his fall resulted in a measure of pain.
“I asked him how he was doing,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said postgame. “He said he landed on his butt. I said, ‘What’s the prognosis?’ He said, ‘Well, both cheeks really hurt. …
“We’ll check the cheeks individually tomorrow and we’ll see how he’s doing.”
Pain or no pain, McGee was strong from the outset, stretching Chicago’s depleted defense to its breaking point and helping put this game away at the start of the third quarter, when he forced Lopez to miss point blank on one end and then sprinted for a slam at the other.
Minutes later, McGee set a solid screen for Curry before putting back a two-handed jam right past Taj Gibson.
Check out the team site for more game coverage
Check out the team site for more game coverage
Birthday boy Klay Thompson (28 points, 18 shots) joined in on delivering the third quarter death knell, slinging in two 3-pointers in the right corner, in quick succession.
Chicago occasionally threatened to make this game somewhere between “interesting,” and “let’s beat traffic,” but were casually kept at bay when Thompson and Draymond Green (19 points, a season-high five 3-pointers, eight rebounds, six assists) broke open the fourth quarter.
Green, despite the 3-point display, said his shot was off in pregame warmups.
“Like, really, really, really, really bad,” Green said. “Once I hit the first [3-pointer], I was like, ‘All right, guess I’ll see if the second one go.'”
“I only shot it because I knew I was coming out of the game.”
Wednesday night was more a practice than a test, considering the competition. It comes at the right time, considering what’s on the horizon: a back-to-back including the Memphis Grizzlies, who’ve beat Golden State twice this season, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, in Durant’s first return to his old arena.
Then, we’ll see if practice made perfect.
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