Well, that was fun.
After a heartbreaking and deflating loss on Wednesday in which they blew a 17-point halftime lead against the Sacramento Kings, the Golden State Warriors got an immediate chance to put it in the rearview mirror. They hosted the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, and I was fascinated to see how they would respond.
Would they be energized, angry, and inspired? Or beat up, despondent, and out of energy?
To quote the famous meme, they had us in the first half. Well, the first half of the first quarter, that is.
The game could not have started worse for the Warriors. On the first possession, Gary Payton II missed a three. On the second possession, Buddy Hield threw an ill-advised lob that failed. On their third possession Payton turned the ball over on Chicago’s side of the court. A minute-and-a-half in, the Bulls led 8-0. And after Trayce Jackson-Davis scored a layup to finally get the Warriors on the board, Chicago came right back with a 7-2 run.
About halfway through the quarter the Warriors trailed 20-6. They looked lethargic, sloppy, and sapped entirely of energy. They weren’t executing on either end of the court.
And then they flipped the switch and never looked back, outscoring Chicago 125-86 the rest of the way, to run away with a dominant 131-106 victory.
It took everyone involved, but it especially took a spectacular effort from the bench. The bench that — along with some excellence from Wiggins — pulled the Warriors to within three points at the end of the first quarter, despite Chicago shooting 7-for-11 from three-point range. A bench that turned a one-point halftime deficit into a double-digit third quarter lead, and a 14-point lead going into the fourth quarter. A bench that immediately put their stamp on the fourth quarter, ensuring that there would be no meltdown this time, no big lead turned back over to the opponent. A bench that outscored Chicago’s 83-41.
That the Warriors had a good bench performance isn’t surprising after the depth they added this offseason, and the way the season started. But having a good bench performance when so many critical players are sidelined — Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and Kyle Anderson are all out — is impressive, and it came primarily from a pair of players who were out of the lineup until very recently: young second-round picks Gui Santos and Quinten Post.
Santos has stamped his spot in the rotation with his recent play, but this might have been his best game yet. He dropped in 19 points (just two off of Steph Curry’s team-high), grabbed seven rebounds, shot a blistering 5-for-6 from three-point range, and played excellent defense. Post, playing in just his sixth career game, made it clear that he deserves a spot in the rotation, too. He emphatically dropped in 20 points with five rebounds and three assists, made smart and disciplined plays all night, had strong defense, and shot 5-for-10 from distance.
Those weren’t garbage time points, either. Both Santos and Post entered the game in the first quarter, and were a huge part of the team turning the game around, as well as securing the lead late and hanging onto it. They were brilliant and, after those initial six or so minutes, so were all of their teammates.
Moses Moody was brilliant en route to 16 points, while Wiggins had a highly-aggressive 17 points and seven rebounds. Kevon Looney grabbed 11 boards off the bench, and Brandin Podziemski did a little bit of everything (including scoring 10 points) in his return after nearly a month on the sidelines.
An excellent win to get back above .500 and remind themselves that they’re capable of playing good basketball. Now they get a day off before an exciting showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.