Despite missing Giannis Antetokounmpo to injury, the Milwaukee Bucks bested the Golden State Warriors at home.
The Milwaukee Bucks weren’t deterred by the absence of star Giannis Antetokounmpo after they drubbed the Golden State Warriors at home, 120-110, at the Fiserv Forum for their fourth win of the year on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).
With Antetokounmpo out because of a knee issue, guard Ryan Rollins picked up the slack in the scoring department, leading all scorers with a career-high 32 points.
But it was still an all-around team win for Milwaukee which held off Golden State in the fourth quarter with eight players out of 10 fielded scoring in double-digits. Myles Turner was the biggest supporting cast for Rollins with his 17 points.
It wasn’t just scoring for Rollins as he also had three rebounds, and eight assists. Turner, for his part, also had seven rebounds, three assists, and a block.
In the fourth quarter, Golden State threatened when Steph Curry hit a triple to cut the Milwaukee lead to two, 106-104, but Rollins and Turner drilled back-to-back triples in the next few possessions to help balloon the lead to eight, 112-104, with 3:27 ticks remaining.
Curry paced Golden State in the losing effort with 27 points, six rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
The Bucks improved to 4-1 while Golden State fell to 4-2.
Wemby, Spurs continue to roll
Elsewhere, the San Antonio Spurs rolled into their fifth straight win to start the season with a 107-101 escape act over the Miami Heat at the Frost Bank Center.
Victor Wembanyama emerged victorious in a matchup against Bam Adebayo, finishing with a double-double of 27 points, and 18 rebounds. He also had six assists, one steal, and five blocks for an all-around performance.
Meanwhile, Adebayo saw his 31-point, 10-rebound double-double go down the drain as the Miami Heat skidded to 3-2 and saw their three-game win streak stopped.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.