NBA: De'Anthony Melton comes up big as Warriors down Bucks

Stephen Curry scored a team-high 31 points, and De'Anthony Melton added a season-high 22 as the Golden State Warriors opened an eight-game homestand with a 120-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night in San Francisco.

Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded a 34-point, 10-rebound double-double in just 31 minutes, but it wasn’t enough for the Bucks to secure a third straight win.

The Warriors held a 53-50 lead late in the second quarter before taking advantage of Antetokounmpo’s third foul, scoring 11 consecutive points with the Milwaukee star on the bench. Golden State went into halftime with a 64-53 advantage.

Melton contributed a three-pointer during the run, marking his third long-range basket in four attempts for the half. Moses Moody also hit three triples, helping the Warriors shoot 12-for-25 from beyond the arc in the opening 24 minutes and outscore the Bucks 36-12 from deep.

Golden State maintained 49.4% overall shooting and connected on 18 three-pointers, never trailing in the second half to claim its seventh win in the last 10 games.

Curry’s 30-point performance marked his 12th of the season, and he also tied for the team lead with seven assists while adding six rebounds. Melton, who hadn’t scored more than 16 points or made more than three threes in a game this season, went 5-for-9 from long range.

Al Horford came off the bench to contribute eight points, a game-high-tying 10 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks for the Warriors. Jimmy Butler III added 21 points, Draymond Green had 14 points and seven assists, and Quinten Post scored 11.

Antetokounmpo shot 15-for-22 as the Bucks hit 54.1% of their shots overall and 43.8% from three, but Milwaukee managed just 12 free-throw attempts—only three more than Butler alone—and was outscored 14-7 at the line.

Kevin Porter Jr. led the Bucks with 15 points and a game-high nine assists, while Ryan Rollins scored 16, Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma had 13 apiece, and AJ Green added 11.

—Field Level Media/Reuters