SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors allowed just 42 points in the second half, pulling away from the Bulls by applying tenacious ball pressure and raining 3-pointers.
Golden State, back at .500, separated from the similarly mediocre Bulls behind a pair of unsung contributions.
For a second straight game, Gui Santos and Quinten Post provided lifts off the bench, stepping up as Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga remain sidelined with injuries. Post in particular is an intriguing development, as the rookie scored 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting (including 5-for-10 from deep) in his second night of true NBA action. Santos, an energizing force, registered 19 points and seven boards and missed only three shots.
Post and Santos outscored Chicago’s twinning stars of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, 39 to 33.
“We’ve been struggling offensively, so I think that’s why I’m getting a chance,” Post said postgame. “Just to get a new look out there. So it doesn’t make sense if I come in and don’t play my game. So, just shot the shots I thought were good (looks), glad a few went in.”
They supported Steph Curry (21 points, 7 assists) and Andrew Wiggins (17 points, 7 rebounds) in the 131-106 win. Golden State (22-22) drilled 25 of 57 3-pointers (44%) for the team’s second-highest total of the season.
The Warriors fell behind 20-6 as a late-arriving crowd filtered into Chase Center. The Bulls hit six of their first seven 3-pointers and Vucevic dropped seven quick points.
But Golden State’s bench ripped off a 9-0 run as the defense picked up.
Brandin Podziemski, in his first game back after missing the previous 12 with an abdominal strain, drew a charge on Lonzo Ball as the Warriors inched within three after the first frame. Steve Kerr, searching for offensively tilted lineup combinations, played 11 Warriors in the first nine minutes.
Podziemski, Gui Santos and Quinten Post were — outside Curry — the Warriors’ most consistently productive players. Santos hit all three of his first-half 3s. Podziemski pushed the pace and kept the offense flowing. And Post, playing real minutes for a second straight game, hit a pick-and-pop 3 from above the break and threw two dimes, making the right reads under pressure in the lane.
The smooth Zach LaVine came alive late in the first quarter pouring in 14 points in eight minutes. He and Vucevic have been popular hypothetical trade targets — rumored and, to varying degrees, reported — of the Warriors.
Seeing much more single coverage than normal, Curry poured in 11 points to take a one-point deficit into halftime. Perhaps Chicago would’ve thrown more doubles at Curry if Post wasn’t on the floor.
“Steph was the happiest guy in the building tonight,” Kerr said. “With all that room to work with. The game got a lot easier for all our guys. So it was really exciting watching Quinten.”
Santos started the second half and cashed in his fourth 3-pointer, matching his output from the previous night in Sacramento.
A bench unit of Podziemski, Dennis Schroder, Moses Moody, Andrew Wiggins and Trayce Jackson-Davis provided strong minutes in the third quarter, sharing the ball and ramping up the defensive intensity.
The Warriors held the Bulls to nine points over the last eight minutes of the third quarter, winning the period 31-16. Both team owner Joe Lacob and Curry threw their fists in the air after Post nailed a pick-and-pop 3-pointer.
Lacob stood up from his front-row seat again when Post drilled his fourth 3. He was getting them up, taking nine in his first 14 minutes. His ability to stretch the floor from the center spot — like Vucevic — gives Golden State a different element than they’re used to.
Post’s fifth trey put the Warriors up 23 points. Later, Santos kept a possession alive by tracking down an offensive board and stuck the follow-through on a 3.
The Warriors enjoyed their most comfortable lead since the Philadelphia blowout on Jan. 2, and it came partly on the backs of two players the Warriors didn’t expect to contribute at all this year.
Vucevic and LaVine, the popular trade wish-list items among trade machine mechanics, watched the last five minutes from the visiting bench.
Kuminga and Green are still at least a week away from returning, probably more. Santos and Post have already earned their head coach’s trust, Kerr said, but stacking more performances like this would make a real case for rotation minutes even at full strength.
Originally Published:
Source: Paradise Post
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