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There's a reason why no NBA team has ever completed a perfect 7-0 road trip.
They're just really, really tiring.
The Milwaulkee Bucks, ender of streaks big and small, used their long arms (and some really weak Warriors legs) to do what no team has done in four months: beat the Golden State Warriors.
Yes, it was a road game. Yeah, the back-end of a road back-to-back. And yeah, the Dubs couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. But the Bucks were undeniably the better team tonight, and they earned this massive victory (they were also playing on the back-end of a back-to-back, so no advantage there).
The Warriors drop to 24-1 on the season, while the Bucks improve to 10-15.
Unlike last night's double overtime thriller in Boston, this game hardly lived up to the hype. Golden State was a step slow all night, routinely falling behind cutters on defense. On the other end of the court, their exhaustion showed even more, as their jump shots fell short over and over. For the game, only Stephen Curry (28-7-5), Draymond Green (24-11-8) and Festus Ezeli (13 and 8 -- Festuvus for the rest of us!) found any kind of success against the Bucks' defense.
Despite the return of Splash Brother Klay Thompson from an ankle sprain, Golden State was a Kobe-esque 6-of-26 from beyond the three point line. Meanwhile, the Dubs allowed the league's second worst offensive team to shoot 49.4% from the floor.
The Warriors made it interesting in the third, as they cut the Bucks lead to one. But for the most part, this was a wire-to-wire victory for Milwaukee. Their uncharacteristically hot shooting and fantastic defense kept them ahead throughout the night, resulting in the best quality win in the NBA this season.
The Milwaukee fans, many of whom were clad in green "24-1" shirts, earned the right to celebrate tonight. Their streak-busting franchise just delivered one of the biggest regular season victories in their history, and it came against a Warriors team that just couldn't keep up.
Golden State gets a well deserved rest before taking on the Phoenix Suns at Oracle on Wednesday. The Bucks, who have been a disappointment for the season (until tonight!) will take on the lowly Los Angeles Lakers, Tuesday.
Oh well.