Thompson scores 30, lifting Warriors to 140-131 win over Bulls

Jan 13, 2024, 05:09 am

CHICAGO -- — Klay Thompson scored 30 points and Stephen Curry scored 15 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Golden State Warriors used a big second-half turnaround to beat the Chicago Bulls 140-131 on Friday night.

Thompson and Curry started slow, missing a combined 10 of their first 11 shots from the field. But the tide turned at halftime, with Thompson making five 3-pointers and scoring 17 as the Warriors pulled to a 16-point lead entering the fourth.

“It’s nice to win a game like that where I know individually I can shoot the ball better but we won a game collectively,” Curry said. “We have a standard that we want to live up to for ourselves. The disappointment is you know you can play better. It doesn’t mean we’re going to win every game, but you just want to play better. I think we did that tonight.”

Curry finished 8 of 24 from the field, but had nine assists as the Warriors needed just over five minutes in the third quarter to erase a 13-point halftime deficit. Andrew Wiggins finished with 17 points and eight assists for Golden State, who had dropped their last two games at home. Jonathan Kuminga chipped in 24 points off the bench.

“This was a game we felt we had to win, especially with the upcoming road trip,” Thompson said. “When our spirit is right, things tend to go our way.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 39 points to lead the Bulls, who lost while shooting a 58.1% from the field. Only one team gives the ball away less often than the Bulls on average, yet the Warriors won the turnover battle 12-3. Zach LaVine scored 25 points with eight rebounds and seven assists in the first game the Bulls have lost since he returned from injury.

Coby White scored 21 of his 25 points in the first half, including a 29-foot jumper with 1.1 seconds remaining to send the Bulls into halftime ahead 75-62, their highest-scoring half of the season.

White’s driving layup with 2:57 left in the game drew the Bulls within four, but they got no closer.

“They did a great job adjusting, coming out changing up the game plan,” DeRozan said of the Warriors. “You can never count them out no matter how big of a lead we have.”

The Bulls recognized 13 franchise luminaries as well as the 1995-96 championship team during a Ring of Honor ceremony at halftime. But the affair was marred by United Center fans booing former general manager Jerry Krause, leaving his widow, Thelma, visibly upset.

The Warriors played without four regulars, with guard Moses Moody expected to miss the entire four-game road trip with a left calf strain. Chris Paul is out with a left hand fracture, Gary Payton II is recovering from a left hamstring strain, and Draymond Green is still ramping up conditioning after his suspension.

“I can’t wait until Draymond is back,” Thompson said. “We’re not the Warriors without him. Hopefully within these next couple of games, maybe Memphis or Utah would be great. I think he makes the biggest impact defensively.”

UP NEXT

Warriors: Continue a four-game road trip in Milwaukee on Saturday night.

Bulls: Facing the Spurs at San Antonio on Saturday night.

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