Curry poured in 42 points and the Warriors scored 44 in the third to beat the Bucks 123-112

PRIMETIME PERFORMANCE

In a meeting of two of the leading MVP candidates, Stephen Curry scored 42 points and collected 10 rebounds, but it was a dominant third quarter that pushed the Warriors to a 123-112 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Curry scored 30 or more points for the eighth straight game while collecting his third double-double in four games. D’Angelo Russell snapped out of a recent funk, scoring 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.

The Warriors fell behind early to the Bucks, trailing 40-33 after the first quarter. That lead immediately swelled to double-digits to begin the second, and with 2:19 to play in the quarter, the Bucks pushed the advantage to eight. Alec Burks (18 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals) sparked a Warrior run to end the half, scoring six straight points before a Curry layup with three seconds to play tied the game at the break.

The Warriors continued their run into the second half, going on a 12-2 streak to begin the third quarter, eventually scoring 44 points in the third quarter to build a 105-82 edge entering the fourth.

VALUABLE RESERVE

Burks has been proven key throughout the Warriors’ 29-10 start to the season, and has turned it up as of late. With 18 points on Wednesday, Burks has scored in double-figures in 10 of the last 12 games, averaging 15.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists during that span. That double-figure scoring mark has been valuable for the Warriors, who are 18-7 when Burks scores at least 10 points.

UP NEXT

Golden State travels south to Los Angeles to face Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers on Friday night in the first meeting between the two teams since opening night.

TEAM LEADERS