Back to the future: Warriors vs. Bucks

The Golden State Warriors grabbed a win that they desperately needed on Tuesday night, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 122-121. It was impressive and inspirational, even if the Bucks were without two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

With the Dubs back in the win column, it’s time to revisit my preview, and see how they did on their pregame keys to victory.

Avoid stagnancy

The key: Don’t let the ball get stagnant — cut and pass on offense.

The outcome: The Warriors had a lot of issues on offense on Tuesday night, but stagnancy wasn’t one of them. Golden State moved and passed quite a bit — sometimes even too much.

The offense was often sloppy, and even more often disjointed, but you can’t fault them for staying in place or letting the ball stick. They had 28 assists, and were far more active than in any other recent games.

Grading the key: 8 out of 10.

STEPH

The key: Lean heavily on Steph Curry.

The outcome: I’m sure there are plenty of Warriors fans who want the Dubs to lean even more heavily on Steph Curry. And who can blame them? Golden State has had a horrific offense this season, despite Curry having a historically sensational offensive year.

Yet even if you want them to lean on Curry more than they did on Tuesday, you can still recognize that they leaned on him a bit. Curry had far and away the most shooting possessions on the team, with 21 shots attempted (Andrew Wiggins was next with 15), and 9 free throws (more than half of the team’s total). Add it all up and Curry’s night was nothing short of sensational.

Still would love to see him shot 30 times more often, but no complaints tonight.

Grading the key: 8.5 out of 10.

Avoid fouls

The key: Try not to foul seven million times.

The outcome: Steve Kerr has spent all year saying that the Warriors can be a good team if they just learn to stop turning the ball over, and stop fouling. And on Tuesday, he looked smart for saying that.

The Dubs had just 11 turnovers and, to the key, committed just 18 fouls. They sent Milwaukee to the line 22 times, which is a strong upgrade over Sunday night, when the Atlanta Hawks shot 45 free throws.

There’s still room for improvement, but it was a welcome sight.

Grading the key: 7.5 out of 10.

A win! That sure is nice.