Final Score: Warriors outrun Bulls 119-112, lose Bell to injury

The Golden State Warriors got the job done in this winter evening’s duel against the dilapidated ruin that is the once-proud Chicago Bulls franchise: 119-112.

With 1990’s Bulls’ greats Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant in the front row to enjoy the show (and probably secretly mutter to each other a shared belief that these Warriors “ain’t all that”), the young Bulls fought hard early, even taking a 66-63 lead at halftime.

Then the Splash Bros. combined forces and unleashed an “Apocalyptic Rain Tsunami,” submerging the Bulls, Pippen, Grant and the vocal Chicago fan contingent in the United Center.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson co-taught a riveting master-class on “drilling jumpers in human beings’ faces,” combining for a blistering 68 points on 40 shots. Even with injuries keeping Olympians Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala sidelined, the Dubs still delivered their usual third-quarter eruption, eviscerating Chicago 32-12 in the period.

Pause those “cash consideration” jokes

So, on the first play of the game, Jordan Bell got posterized by Robin Lopez and landed awkwardly on one leg. He stayed down for several minutes, and couldn’t stand on his own power, before being wheeled out.

The excruciating pain on Bell’s face as the medical staff rescued the stellar young rookie from the floor was a heartbreaking.

The fact that Bell’s terrifying first fall as a professional came against the team that traded his draft rights for cash considerations ... what are the odds?

The young fella will bounce back, and hopefully it’s nothing too severe. He is a great option for coach Steve Kerr (he started the Cleveland Cavaliers game on the road). He has been a great story in his first season with the champs, and is always hungry to make his mark when he’s in the lineup.

Get well, Bell!

The Splash Bros. see red

The “Unanimous One” Curry and “Android” Thompson were about to have monster games, in honor of their fallen comrade. As the original Splash Bros., they need very little provocation to unleash a devastating deluge of basketball brilliance. Curry scored a honey badger-aggressive 14 points in the first quarter after Bell was carted off, and didn’t cool off any time after, finishing with 30.

After he burst into flames in “Human Torch Mode,” his sparks ignited the second greatest shooter of all time as Thompson got cooking, finishing with a season-high 38 points.

A surprisingly close final period

The Warriors got a little bored with their plate and lingered in finishing their dinner. The Bulls took advantage, showing pride late and cutting into the lead down the stretch. As the Warriors wrestled toward the final buzzer, there was an unfortunate injury deep in the fourth quarter for Chicago guard Kris Dunn, who fell on a breakaway dunk.

Fortunately, the Warriors wrapped it up before anyone else got carted off.

The team finished shooting 50% from the field, with 15 turnovers. Kevin Durant chipped in 19 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.

Golden State’s next game on the road trip is down in Houston against those quirky Rockets. That will be the fifth game on this New Year’s road trip, so hopefully fatigue won’t be too much of a problem for the champs in that matchup of the West’s best.