Warriors, Thompson scorch Bulls for second-straight blowout

After their dismantling of the New York Knicks, Klay Thompson jokingly asked his teammates when the last time the team had blown someone out.

Well, now it’s happened two games in a row after a 146-109 embarrassment of the Chicago Bulls — thanks in large part to Thompson.

This story has been updated with quotes and post-game material from the Warriors’ locker room at Oracle Arena.

It also helps when you play the NBA equivalent of a miracle cure-all drug in the Knicks and Bulls in back-to-back games.

Thompson continued to utterly dominate the Bulls with 30 points on seven 3’s in just 25 minutes, which included lasering in three 3’s in the first 90 seconds of the game.

Steve Kerr said those shots really propelled the Warriors immediately:

“That was incredible. I think he hit three 3’s in the first minute and a half, unbelievable start for him and it was a great first quarter, he obviously set the tone.”

In his two games versus Chicago, Thompson has gone for a 82 combined points while shooting 21-of-35 from 3.

While it was Thompson who made history the first game against the Bulls (10-32), it was Stephen Curry who made his own Friday, passing Jason Terry for third on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers list. He would finish with five made 3’s and 28 points.

Being in top three on that list behind Reggie Miller and Ray Allen is something Curry knows is special:

“Two guys that I know were trendsetters and stretching the imagination of the 3-point game. And doing it for many many many years, and people that I looked up to as a young kid playing the game… Just knowing those two guys are right in front of me, it’s a special moment for sure.”

Kevin Durant was the quietest of the “big 3” with 22 points, though he wasn’t so quiet on the court, as he and Bobby Portis exchanged heated words for a good couple minutes before both got hit with T’s.

After the skirmish, Durant railed off seven straight points and tallied nine in the third quarter.

Durant said that these last few games have allowed the team to just work on their craft:

“It’s good to get in the gym to just work on that stuff. And I think we did a solid job of showing exactly what team we want to be these last few games. It’s just good to play.”

But the starters’ nights were short, as no one played more than 28 minutes with this game essentially being decided after a 43-17 first quarter.

Kerr said the part of the game he enjoyed the most was garbage time:

“The best part of the game was when all the bench guys got to play big minutes… None of the starters played more than 30 minutes, which was great for us.”

The Warriors’ subs made the most of their time with Jordan Bell, Quinn Cook and Marcus Derrickson all reaching double-figures in scoring during their fourth-quarter run.

It’s been a long time since the Warriors (28-14) have been this dominant at home, but that’s what is expected when you host a pair of teams that are a combined 9-29 on the road.

Not much can be gained from these games except confidence, but that’s not something this Warriors team is lacking.

But that being said, it’s never a bad thing to blow out teams you should, and coast to a couple comfortable wins.

After a rocky first half to the season, any return to normality is a welcome change.

Up Next

A quick two-game road trip awaits the Warriors first up is rookie sensation Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks Sunday.

Notes

The Warriors scored 40 points in both the first and third quarters, which marks the eighth and ninth times they’ve hit those totals this season. They also reached the 40-point plateau against the Bulls the first time they matched up.

Curtis Uemura is SFBay’s Golden State Warriors beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @CUemura on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Warriors basketball.