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In their last chance to showcase their talents, the Warriors needed to come out strong and try and get back on the winning track. This time they faced the number two overall draft pick in Jabari Parker and the Milwaukee Bucks. Parker and the Bucks had been winless in their first four contests, and they did not want to leave Las Vegas without a victory. After winning 16 games in a row, the Warriors just wanted to get one win and setup next year’s summer league team with an opportunity to continue the streak. Unfortunately, Parker put on a display and showed why he is the number two overall pick and a consistent All-Star player for years to come. Check out our game recap below:
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1st Quarter
The Warriors won the tip, but Parker was able to get the first two points of the game. The starting five had new faces such as Rob Loe and Rodney McGruder and the Warriors looked a bit out of sync early. Both teams started the game off quietly, but Parker looked active and aggressive early on. The Warriors got some offense when Nemanja Nedovic and Justin Holiday connected on a nice alley-oop, but the Bucks grabbed the early lead in the first quarter. James Michael McAdoo is active on the defensive end and is able to get a steal, which leads to a beautiful Nedovic reverse layup. After another stop on the defensive end, Nedovic leads the fast break and is able to find the McGruder for a bucket plus the foul. The Warriors were down by one and Coach Steve Kerr had decided to put in Kiwi Gardner in the game. What he lacks in size, he makes up with heart. The Warriors gave up two straight buckets, but are only down by six at the end of the first. Nedovic and McGruder led the Warriors with four points a piece and Parker had four points for the Bucks as well.
2nd Quarter
Gardner does a great job of moving the ball up the court and finding the open man. Although nobody is able to hit a shot for him, he continued to impress the fans with his quick feet and ability to break down the defese. Just like when Gardner is on the bench, he was a great team player on court as well. The Warriors fell asleep on defense and the Bucks extend the lead to 13 early in the second after only being up six. This probably sounds like a broken record, but the Warriors continued to start the game off slow and once again found themselves in a hole. This is getting ugly quickly, Parker is taking over and the lead is now 18. The Warriors kept getting killed inside the paint and cannot score on the other end. With two minutes remaining in the half, the Warriors have only scored three points thus far. The Bucks finished the half leading 45-21, but Kerr had put on emphasis on playing those who haven’t seen the floor much since the start of Summer League. Chris Wright and Parker lead the Bucks with 10 points a piece and Rob Loe has a team high of five points.
3rd Quarter
Kerr decided to go with Aaron Craft and McAdoo to start the second half, but the Bucks kept scoring at will. The Warriors showed some signs of life with some easy transition points, but it wasn’t enough to get them back in this game. McGruder was active and was consistently getting to the cup. After some boring basketball, Kiwi Gardner brings some life to his team and the arena. He rolls out 7 straight points, and earns MVP chants from the crowd as he goes to the line to complete his three point play. Parker led all scorers with 13 points and the Bucks had a 60-43 advantage after three quarters of play.
4th Quarter
The Warriors began the final quarter down by 17 points. For the first two minutes the Warriors could not score and it looked like the Warriors were going to end up losing their final game by a big margin. Fortunately, the Warriors got some momentum going with consecutive scores from Walt Lemon Jr., who provided a nice spark off the bench. With four minutes left to play and the Warriors were still down 15, but that did not deter them from playing hard throughout. Craft and his pesky defense got a steal, a basket, and the foul to make it a three point play, just a great play by such a smart player. The Warriors were not giving up and this time Tyrus McGee hit consecutive three pointers to cut the lead to just five points. Parker got his own back-to-back buckets and the lead increased to nine. McGee continued his relentless attacking and converted the basket plus the foul, keeping the Warriors’ hopes alive. After a stop, Craft hits a pull up three to make it a one possession game. With time running out, the Warriors chose to foul to extend the game, but Parker and the Bucks were able to convert their free throws. Milwaukee finally got their first win with Parker leading the way with 20 points. The Warriors were led by Craft with 10 points and the surprise of the game was Kiwi Gardner with 8 points.