Golden State Warriors Start Slow, Finish Strong Against Chicago Bulls

Feb 6, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors small forward Draymond Green (23) high fives small forward Andre Iguodala (9) after a basket and foul against the Chicago Bulls during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Thursday night, the banged up Chicago Bulls who played just eight players fell victim to the surprisingly inconsistent Golden State Warriors, who have been struggling at home lately. The Warriors were able to grit it out and grab the win

The biggest handicap for the Warriors tonight was the loss of David Lee, their best scorer in the paint, and Andrew Bogut, their best inside defender. In case you were wondering, those two have a profound impact on whether the Warriors can close out games or not.

The Dubs had another miserable start. At one point, they trailed the ballgame 22-8, and this was mid-way through the first quarter. The look on Mark Jackson’s face said it all, as not only the Warriors’ defense was faltering majorly, but their shooting percentage was once again sub-30. After an ugly quarter for them, and an almost perfect one for Chicago, the Warriors trailed 29-16.

In the second quarter, Coach Jackson really talked some sense in to the Warriors. In a timeout, he said:

"Stop waiting around for someone else to do something. You do it! You do it! You do it!"

When he said that, he pointed to different players. The Warriors responded well to Jackson and were able to come alive offensively. They stifled the Bulls into an astonishingly low quarter at 17, while the Warriors doubled them up for 34 points against one of the better defensive teams in the NBA. But even if you play defense perfectly, in the NBA, the offense always has a way to beat the defense.

Riding the momentum into halftime, the Warriors came out strong in the third quarter. They continued their great defense and never saw any offensive struggles. Stephen Curry, who finished with 34 points on 13/19 shooting and 9 assists, was sharing the ball as well. His partner in crime, Klay Thompson, finally broke out of his shooting slump in a big way with 22 points on 8/16 shooting. The Splash Brothers haven’t both been shooting well in quite a while..

Taj Gibson had a huge night for the Bulls, scoring. Joakim Noah, the All-Star, also had a fantastic game in the absence of Carlos Boozer. He moved the ball and found his teammates from all over the floor, as he is  a big man that knows how to pass.

Although the bench didn’t do too much for the Warriors today, Harrison Barnes, who finished with 11 points and Jordan Crawford, who also finished with 11 provided the additional lift that they needed to really finish off the Bulls in the fourth quarter.

In front of new NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Golden State dazzled, impressed, and battled it out for a hard-fought and much-needed home victory. They played like a championship team, and without two of their best inside players in Lee and Bogut, the Warriors somehow, someway managed to find a way to win.

The Bulls fought hard, as they usually do, but in the end, Curry was too much for the Warriors. If the Warriors want to keep getting wins like this, they’re going to have to stay consistent with their defense and offense. When offense isn’t there, defense has to be; otherwise, they’re in for a long night.