SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 24 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists and the Golden State Warriors, playing without Stephen Curry, beat the Milwaukee Bucks 104-93 on Tuesday night.
Curry, who recently became the first player in NBA history to make 4,000 3-pointers, was given the night off for a mental and emotional break by Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
Buddy Hield had 15 points and six rebounds off the bench to help the Warriors improve to 5-1 on a seven-game homestand. Brandin Podziemski started in place of Curry and had 17 points and seven rebounds.
With 13 games remaining in the regular season, Golden State is 40-39 and remains in the No. 6 slot in the Western Conference.
Kyle Kuzma made five 3-pointers and scored 22 points to pace the Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo added 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez each scored 16.
Takeaways
Bucks: Milwaukee couldn’t overcome a sluggish start and played from behind most of the night. Now it’s on to face Western Conference contenders the Lakers, Kings, Suns and Nuggets.
Warriors: Golden State improved to 7-3 this season and 91-150 overall in games without Curry
Key moment
After Gary Trent Jr. missed a potentially tying 3-point attempt late in the fourth quarter, Podziemski came down and nailed his third 3 of the night to help secure the win.
Key stat
For the sixth time this season Antetokounmpo made more free throws (10) than he did shots (five).
Up next
The Warriors conclude their season-high seven-game homestand against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. Milwaukee heads to Los Angeles to play the Lakers on Thursday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Michael Wagaman, The Associated Press
