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Warriors rout Bucks to get back on track

Dec 6, 2007 - 7:15 AM By Ryan Leong PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- The Golden State Warriors did not let one loss deter them from starting another winning streak.

Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson both scored 20 points to lead the Warriors to a 120-90 drubbing of the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.

Golden State had a six-game winning streak snapped on Monday against the Orlando Magic, but rebounded against the Bucks to pick up its first home win against an Eastern Conference opponent this season.

"We just scrapped," Davis said. "I think coming off a tough loss to Orlando, we were able to scrap, and we had to fight and claw, and that's what we were able to do. We wanted to run them and force them to shoot a high volume of jumpers. Get the ball out and just be on the attack and, if we were the aggressors tonight, we would have an opportunity to win."

The Warriors jumped out to a 17-9 lead in the first quarter, making 54 percent of their shots including 3-of-4 from 3-point range over the first seven minutes.

Golden State led 30-25 after one quarter and opened the second with a 13-2 run - highlighted by a 3-pointer by Kelenna Azubuike, who finished with 16 points, giving the Warriors a 16-point lead with 5:52 remaining in the half.

They capped off the first half with an alley-oop pass by Matt Barnes to Monta Ellis for the dunk as Golden State took a 57-36 lead into the locker room.

Milwaukee shot a dismal 33 percent in the first half and also committed 11 turnovers resulting in 17 points by Golden State.

Michael Redd scored 24 points in the loss for the Bucks, who finished with 23 turnovers and made just 3-of-13 shots from the arc.

"I'm just frustrated on how we played tonight, we played terrible," Redd said. "At the same time, you give Golden State a lot of credit, they came out and did a great job of attacking. They were just tougher than us, mentally and physically. We've got to challenge ourselves every night. We just didn't compete tonight."

The Warriors continued to pour it on after the break and led by as many as 28 points in the third quarter. Ellis brought the crowd to its feet with a thunderous driving dunk from the baseline, posterizing former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut late in the quarter.

"We were able to start the third quarter off with a nice little run," Jackson said. "I think that was the biggest thing. They got in the paint a lot and we were able to get on the ball and get fast breaks. If we can run a team like that, especially a team that played last night, it's always good for us because we had a lot of rest, we had a day off."

Milwaukee outscored Golden State by eight points in the fourth but it wasn't enough to overcome an 85-63 deficit heading into the final quarter.

One game after shooting just 9-of-40 from 3-point range, the Warriors shot an NBA season-high 68 percent, making 15-of-22 from the arc.

"Sometimes it's just a momentum thing," Golden State coach Don Nelson said. "It happens and you start making all your shots and everybody starts making them. But I think they were tired and we played well. Our game plan was solid and the guys carried out the game plan and everything just clicked on both ends."

The loss was the Bucks fifth in their last six games as they haven't eclipsed the 100-point mark in seven straight contests.

"All the losses to me are tough if you lose them by two points or 30 points," Milwaukee coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "I'm not going to make more out of it. That's a team there (the Warriors) that have won 10 out of 12 games and they're playing with a lot of confidence.

"So, it's not time for us to jump off the bridge here and start talking about the worst loss ever and that kind of stuff. That's not relevant at this point."