Warriors upend Bulls for 12th straight victory

Green, Warriors Sink Bulls

VIDEO PLAYLIST

CHICAGO — Draymond Green scored a career-high 31 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the Chicago Bulls 112-102 on Saturday night to set a franchise record with their 12th straight victory.

Klay Thompson added 24 points for the Warriors, who extended their league-best record to 17-2.

Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 24 points. Pau Gasol added 22 points and 20 rebounds.

The Warriors improved to 10-1 on the road. They previously won a franchise-record 11 straight games from Dec. 29, 1971-Jan. 22, 1972.

The Bulls fell to just 2-5 at home.

The Warriors had lost five straight and 11 of 12 and were 6-28 over 35 years in Chicago.

Thompson and Green hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Warriors a 95-87 lead with 6:25 remaining. Green made another 3 and hit a layup to extend the lead to 103-90 with 3:11 left.

Gasol tipped in a basket to cut the lead to 107-100 with 31.5 seconds left, but Stephen Curry went 5 of 6 at the free throw line in the final seconds.

Green’s previous career high was 24 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 5. He entered Saturday averaging 12.5 points.

Curry had 19 points to give him double-figure scoring in 18 of 19 games. Harrison Barnes and Marreese Speights added 11 points apiece for the Warriors, who shot 12 of 30 from 3-point range and had 28 fast-break points to the Bulls’ 13.

Joakim Noah scored 16 points and Taj Gibson, back after missing six games with an ankle injury, added 12 for the Bulls, who committed 23 turnovers. Gasol recorded his sixth straight double-double.

The Bulls used a 21-8 run to take a 70-69 lead and held onto an 80-79 lead after three quarters.

Chicago opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 33-28 lead before Warriors coach Steve Kerr was called for a technical foul. The Warriors then outscored the Bulls 33-16 for a 61-49 halftime lead.

Golden State scored 27 fast-break points to the Bulls’ 7 in the first half.

TIP-INS

Warriors: F David Lee (hamstring) has missed all but one game yet is expected to return to action next week. . First-year Warriors coach Kerr won three NBA titles as a Bulls player from 1996-98. He is also the second coach in NBA history to begin his career with a 16-2 record or better. The Syracuse Nationals’ Al Cervi went 18-2 before losing in 1949.

Bulls: During warmups, PG Derrick Rose wore a black “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirt, referring to a New York man who died July 17 after a police officer placed him in a chokehold when he was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. A grand jury decided it would not indict the officer in Eric Garner’s death. A videotape recording of the arrest showed Garner gasping, “I can’t breathe” during the fatal encounter. Thousands have protested the grand jury decision around the country. . F Doug McDermott (knee) has missed three straight games. Coach Tom Thibodeau said McDermott’s knee flared up during Saturday’s shootaround.

UP NEXT

Warriors: Visit Minnesota on Monday.

Bulls: Host Brooklyn on Wednesday.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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