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 Warriors 97, Pelicans 87
Shooting guard Klay Thompson scored 12 of his 26 points in the final
6:39 of the game as Golden State battled to a hard fought 97-87
victory over New Orleans in Game Two of their Western Conference
opening-round series.
"This game was much more indicative of our team than Game One was,"
Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters, emphasising the team
effort. "I like the box score."
With their 20th consecutive home win, the Warriors grabbed a 2-0
lead in a best-of-seven series that moves to New Orleans for Games
Three and Four on Thursday and Saturday.
The top-seeded Warriors, who dominated most of Game One in a 106-99
win, led by just 81-79 before Thompson hit a spinning jumper in the
key to spark his late scoring run.
He added two and three-point jumpers on Golden State's next two
possessions but the eighth-seeded Pelicans refused to go away,
pulling within 88-86 after a driving hoop by point guard Tyreke
Evans with 4:09 remaining.
However, the Warriors defense held New Orleans forward Anthony Davis
without a field goal in the fourth quarter and the visitors were
unable to score again until 23.9 seconds remained, by which time
Golden State held an insurmountable 97-86 lead.
"We know we're not going to shoot a high percentage every night,"
Thompson said. "Our defense carried us tonight. We have the best
defense in the NBA."
Thompson's backcourt mate Stephen Curry also bombed in three
three-pointers en route to 22 points. However, Curry shot just
9-for-21 from the field.
Power forward Draymond Green had a 14-point, 12-rebound
double-double and center Andrew Bogut snatched a game-high 14 boards
as Golden State enjoyed a 49-42 advantage on the backboards.
Davis, who had a 35-point explosion in the Game One loss, scored a
team-high 26 points to complement 10 rebounds.
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[to top of second column] |
Bulls 91, Bucks 82
Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 31 points with nine rebounds to lead
Chicago past Milwaukee in Game Two of their Eastern Conference
quarter-final playoff series.
Bulls guard Derrick Rose added 15 points and nine assists after
being held scoreless in the first half as Chicago opened a 2-0 lead
in the best-of-seven series.
Khris Middleton led Milwaukee with 22 points and Michael
Carter-Williams added 12 points for the Bucks, who were out-scored
20-8 to finish the game.
After the Bulls fell behind 74-71 early in the fourth quarter,
Butler took control. He scored 14 points, including nine during a
13-0 run that put Chicago ahead by 10.
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(Editing by Cameron French/John O'Brien)
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