Golden State Warriors fans will get a look at the prize atop their trade-deadline wish list when Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks make their annual visit to San Francisco on Wednesday night.
Antetokounmpo put on quite a show in the California capital on Monday when he shoehorned 37 points into 32 minutes in a 115-98 romp over the Sacramento Kings. Amid hitting 13 of his 17 shots, the nine-time All-Star added 11 rebounds, completing his third consecutive double-double.
The Bucks have won four of five, also getting inspired play from guards Kevin Porter Jr., who has averaged 17.3 points in his last four games, and Ryan Rollins, who has scored in double figures in every game this season except the opener against Washington, when he had just nine.
Along the way, Rollins exacted a measure of revenge against the Warriors, who acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks on draft night in 2022 but gave him just 62 minutes of playing time that season before sending him to Washington as part of the Jordan Poole-Chris Paul trade.
Rollins exploded for 32 points when the Bucks, without Antetokounmpo and Porter, surprised the Warriors 120-110 in Milwaukee in October.
Rollins outscored point guard rival Stephen Curry (27 points) in that one.
Having recently been endorsed by Tyrese Maxey as the leading candidate for the league’s Most Improved Player award, Rollins has impressed Porter as they share ball-handling responsibilities.
“Everyone knows that I’m ball-dominant,” Porter told the New York Times recently. “But when I’m tired, I trust (Ryan) to take over, and he’s been doing a great job. I love playing with him. He’s a dog. His game’s just been growing each and every day, each and every game.
“He’s capable, so he’s just gotta keep living in that moment.”
Curry will get his rematch coming off a 27-point performance in Monday’s 103-102 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Typical of a Warriors’ season in which injuries and Draymond Green incidents have dominated the news, Curry finished Monday’s game on the bench, having fouled out, while coach Steve Kerr was ejected and banished to the locker room.
That left former Portland coach Terry Stotts diagramming the final play for Jimmy Butler III, who shot a highly contested airball from 15 feet as time was expiring.
The loss was Golden State’s second in three games as it has embarked on a critical portion of its schedule with 10 of 11 games at home. The visit to Los Angeles was the only road game in the stretch.
Green, who played through bruised ribs suffered during a fall into the Warriors’ bench, took away some positives from the narrow defeat.
“I thought we played well. We couldn’t hit shots. We missed a lot of shots, shots that normally make or can make,” Green said after the team’s 38% shooting night. “We took care of the ball. We defended without fouling. I thought we did a lot of good things. We forced turnovers. We just didn’t capitalize enough.”
