Harrington scores 27, Warriors beat Bucks
MILWAUKEE — Playing its fourth game in five nights, Golden State had plenty of energy to again dominate Milwaukee.
Al Harrington scored 27 points, Andris Biedrins added 20 and the Warriors beat the Bucks 119-99 on Saturday night.
“We shared the basketball,” Harrington said of his team’s 25 assists on 43 field goals. “When we have over 20 assists we are a very dangerous team.”
Golden State, which has won five of six, outscored Milwaukee 41-22 in the third quarter to break open the game. Harrington had 11 points and Biedrins added nine in the quarter. The Warriors scored 16 of the points off nine Milwaukee turnovers in the third, and had 26 points off 19 turnovers for the game.
The Bucks had two days of practice to prepare for Golden State, and fruitlessly made it their top priority to limit turnovers. Instead of being rested, Milwaukee seemed listless compared to the Warriors.
“We’re catching a team playing its fourth game in five nights and I’m surprised that they had more energy than we did,” Milwaukee coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “They hit some huge shots and it took some air out of our sails.”
The Warriors also played short-handed. They found out at game time that reserve forward Matt Barnes was ineligible to play because he wasn’t listed on the team’s active/inactive list turned in by assistant coach Keith Smart.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Golden State coach Don Nelson said. “I didn’t think we’d have much energy and then finding out I don’t have Matt Barnes, I am going ‘Whoa,’ some of these guys are going to have to play, are going to get a chance.”
And they did. Rookie C.J. Watson played 30 minutes and scored a career-high 13 points, and Kosta Perovic made his NBA debut, scoring four points and grabbing four rebounds in just six minutes.
“They were huge, our bench has been playing well,” Baron Davis said. “Anytime you get sparks like that, it propels you to play harder.”
Michael Redd scored 24 points and Andrew Bogut added 21 for Milwaukee, which has lost four of five. The Bucks offensive sets ran through Bogut in the second half and, after halftime, Redd took only three shots and scored only four points.
The Warriors had no trouble shredding the Bucks defense for the second consecutive game this season, winning the first matchup 120-90 on Dec. 5 at Golden State. Biedrins made his first seven shots and had 10 rebounds, while Harrington made five 3-pointers, tying a season high.
Davis scored 19 points while Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson had 12 apiece.
Golden State is the NBA’s second-highest scoring team at 109 points, and opened the second half with a 23-9 run, making its first seven field goals.
They forced five turnovers as well, leading to 13 points. Harrington scored eight points during the run, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Williams and Bogut each had two turnovers during Golden State’s run, capped by Ellis’ fastbreak layup to make it 76-61 with 6:13 left in the quarter.
The Bucks later rattled off seven consecutive points to pull to 78-70, but the Warriors closed the quarter with a 14-2 run to lead 94-74 going into the fourth.
Golden State took the lead for good, 50-48, on Watson’s fastbreak layup with 1:37 left, and led 53-52 at halftime.
Notes: Bucks F Bobby Simmons missed the game because of a sprained neck. He did not practice Friday, but took part in warmups and decided he could not play. ... Bogut has scored at least 20 points in four consecutive games. ... The Bucks rededicated the retired No. 4 jersey of Sidney Moncrief at halftime. It originally was retired in 1990.
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