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NBA highlights on Dec. 2: Warriors secure 11th straight win over Bulls
Li Xiang
Stephen Curry (#30) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP
Stephen Curry (#30) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Stephen Curry (#30) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP

The Golden State Warriors beat the Chicago Bulls 119-111 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on Friday, to beat the opponents 11 times in a row.

Referee calls made both sides uncomfortable in the first half. The Bulls saw their franchise core Zach LaVine and elite defender Alex Caruso go to sit on the bench earlier than expected after they were called for a total of seven fouls in the first two quarters. On the Warriors side, Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole were called for travel and carry multiple times.

As the Bulls' offensive spine, DeMar DeRozan was a bit listless in the first half. Not only did he miss all six field goals (FGs), he also had a completely blank stats sheet in the second quarter. The Bulls were able to keep the game close in the first quarter with aggressiveness, but began to crumble in the second period when no one could stand out on offense.

Klay Thompson (#11) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP
Klay Thompson (#11) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Klay Thompson (#11) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Before Saturday's game, Klay Thompson (1,979) was four triples away from surpassing Dirk Nowitzki (1,982) on the NBA all-time 3-pointers leaders list. That's why the rest of the Warriors were all doing their best to pass the ball him. Unfortunately, Thompson was not in his best shooting form, going 3-for-13 from downtown. He now matches Nowitzki and is seven away from beating Jason Kidd who ranks 13th on the list.

Curry carried on his recent good touch by shooting 4-for-8 at the 3-point line, but he became the main defensive target for the bulls to hit. Though Curry didn't allow many easy points on him thanks to his improved individual defense, such extra consumption affected his touch within the 3-point line and removed him from the game for a while due to the five personal fouls on Curry.

Jordan Poole (#3) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP
Jordan Poole (#3) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Jordan Poole (#3) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP

The biggest contributors to the Warriors home win on Friday night were Poole and Draymond Green. Most of Poole's 30 points were scored in the first and third quarters, making sure that the Warriors had enough firepower to match the Bulls when they were hot. As Poole shot 7-for-13 behind the arc, he could distract the opponents' defense by standing at the 3-point line, not to mention that he already developed a good habit of constantly moving without the ball in the Warriors' system.

Scoring has been out of Green's league since 2016. That's why he is very picky in making shooting choices. On Friday night, he only took the shot either with the best opportunity, or when he had to. Green spent most of his efforts on defense, which he has been good at. Neither LaVine nor DeRozan achieved much when they faced Green.

The Bulls cut their deficit to one point (110-109) at 2:27 in the fourth quarter. And then, Green made one of his most important plays in the game by draining a quick 3-pointer for the Warriors to extend their lead to much safer four points before sealing the victory.

Draymond Green (#23) of the Golden State Warriors blocks a shot by Derrick Jones Jr. (#5) of the Chicago Bulls in the game at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP
Draymond Green (#23) of the Golden State Warriors blocks a shot by Derrick Jones Jr. (#5) of the Chicago Bulls in the game at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Draymond Green (#23) of the Golden State Warriors blocks a shot by Derrick Jones Jr. (#5) of the Chicago Bulls in the game at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, December 2, 2022. /CFP

LaVine has not been playing like himself since he came back from injury this season, which put a great offensive load on DeRozan. Nonetheless, DeRozan relies on his shooting touch in the middle range to maintain his scoring production. Nikola Vucevic is a skilled big man, but he lacks the ability to change the opponents' defense with force.

As a result, the Bulls don't have a steady way to attack. In the first half of last season, they could count on fast break launched after stealing the ball to drive explosive scoring runs, but after Lonzo Ball's injury, the team's perimeter defense was hurt badly and lost their best engine to launch fast break.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Dejounte Murray (#5) of the Atlanta Hawks blocks a shot by Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets in the game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, December 2, 2022. /CFP
Dejounte Murray (#5) of the Atlanta Hawks blocks a shot by Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets in the game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Dejounte Murray (#5) of the Atlanta Hawks blocks a shot by Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets in the game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Denver Nuggets 109-117 Atlanta Hawks

Three of the Hawks' starters, Trae Young, John Collins and De'Andre Hunter sat on the home game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Dejounte Murray, on his own, punished the Nuggets' defense hard by making eight of his 12 jumpers in the middle range to score game-high 34 points and eight assists.

On the Nuggets' side, Nikola Jokic missed only two assists for a 24-point triple-double. It was not the first time for him let go of similar numbers like they meant nothing to him. As the back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), Jokic now only cares about winning. In order to win, he needs Jamal Murray to do better than getting 20 points and seven assists.

Jimmy Butler (#22) of the Miami Heat shoots in the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, December 2, 2022. /CFP
Jimmy Butler (#22) of the Miami Heat shoots in the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Jimmy Butler (#22) of the Miami Heat shoots in the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Miami Heat 120-116 Boston Celtics

Jimmy Butler returned for the Heat after missing seven games and his gift for the team was a comeback win in overtime (OT) at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Butler's presence on the court made the Heat more aggressive on defense, committing 11 steals and forcing 20 turnovers by the Celtics. Moreover, despite that he is only 2.01 meters tall, Butler grabbed 15 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass, both the highest in Friday's game.

Tyler Herro, who has been struggling since last season's playoffs, seemed to have waken up as well. He kept using teammates' screens to firs 3-pointers off the dribble. Having gone 6-for-10 from downtown, Herro made the Celtics’ big men have a hard time deciding if they should close in or out. In the end, they failed both in protecting the paint and containing Herro outside.

Jimmy Butler (back) of the Miami Heat blocks a shot by Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics in the game at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, December 2, 2022. /CFP
Jimmy Butler (back) of the Miami Heat blocks a shot by Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics in the game at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Jimmy Butler (back) of the Miami Heat blocks a shot by Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics in the game at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Jayson Tatum, who has already become a hot candidate for the MVP award this season with his remarkable performance, tripped on Friday night. Fortunately for the Celtics, they had Jaylen Brown to go to. Brown dropped team-high 37 points and 14 rebounds, including making the game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

Before Brown made that key shot for the Celtics, Butler drained a tough shot in front of Al Horford to help the Heat lead 110-107 when there were 5.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Since that play didn't do the job, Butler struck again in OT, making another jumper that was as difficult as the last one in front of Horford again. He expanded the Heat's lead from two to four points (120-116) with 9.4 seconds left. This time, the Celtics failed to make another miracle.

Anthony Davis (#3) of the Los Angeles Lakers penetrates in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December 2, 2022. /CFP
Anthony Davis (#3) of the Los Angeles Lakers penetrates in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Anthony Davis (#3) of the Los Angeles Lakers penetrates in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December 2, 2022. /CFP

Los Angeles Lakers 133-129 Milwaukee Bucks

The Lakers claimed the seventh win out of the past nine games after upsetting the Bucks at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook combined to deliver 22 assists without a single turnover. The purple and gold benefited from their efficient orchestrating performance, especially Anthony Davis, who went 18-for-27 in FGs to drop 44 points and 10 rebounds.

On the Bucks' side, Khris Middleton finally came back and played his first game in over seven months. He got 17 points and seven assists after making three triples in a little more than 26 minutes. The other two of the team's "Big Three," Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday scored 40 and 28 points respectively.

The Bucks did well offensively, but it's hard to win when they allowed the opponents to drop 70 points in the paint.

Washington Wizards 116-117 Charlotte Hornets

Toronto Raptors 105-116 Brooklyn Nets

Orlando Magic 96-107 Cleveland Cavaliers

Philadelphia 76ers 109-117 Memphis Grizzlies

New Orleans Pelicans 117-99 San Antonio Spurs

Houston Rockets 122-121 Phoenix Suns

Indiana Pacers 119-139 Orlando Magic

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