Curry, Barnes help Warriors surge past Bucks
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Matt Barnes contributed seven points, four points and two assists to a second-quarter explosion that allowed the Golden State Warriors to pass the Milwaukee Bucks en route to a 117-92 victory Saturday night.
Stephen Curry scored a game-high 28 points on 9-for-13 shooting as the Warriors shot 60 percent in completing a perfect 3-0 homestand.
The Warriors (55-14) moved 2 1/2 games ahead of San Antonio (52-16), a loser Saturday at Memphis, in the race for top seeding in the Western Conference playoffs.
Meanwhile, despite losing for just the second time in their last 10 games, the Bucks (34-35) fell into a tie with Miami (34-35) for the final two Eastern playoff spots, with Detroit (33-36) and Chicago (33-37) not far behind.
Playing the second half of a back-to-back, the Bucks shocked the Warriors with a 23-9, game-opening flurry. Rookie center Thon Maker had six points in the run.
Curry nailed a pair of 3-pointers -- his first two of six in the game -- to help the Warriors close within 29-27 by period's end, but the real Golden State fireworks were yet to come.
Barnes, signed earlier this month to help fill the void left when Kevin Durant suffered a knee injury, entered the game at the start of the second quarter and played the entire 12 minutes, during which Golden State outscored Milwaukee 36-15 to create a 63-44 halftime advantage.
The Warriors' lead was just 40-38 before Barnes buried consecutive 3-pointers and Curry added a pair in a 23-6 spurt that created the 19-point halftime advantage.
Golden State coasted home from there, winning for a fourth straight time at home over the Bucks while completing a season-series sweep.
Klay Thompson scored 21 points and Andre Iguodala 15, and Draymond Green recorded game-highs in assists (10) and rebounds (eight) to complement his eight points for the Warriors, who outrebounded the Bucks 44-35.
Rookie Malcolm Brogdon led five Bucks in double figures with 18 points.
Tony Snell (12), Greg Monroe (12), Khris Middleton (11) and Mirza Teletovic (10) also scored in double figures for the Bucks, who fell to 2-2 on their six-game trip.
Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo missed 10 of his 14 shots and was limited to nine points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Bucks shot 40.4 percent for the game.
NOTES: Warriors coach Steve Kerr disclosed before the game that injured SF Kevin Durant (sprained knee) will make the trip to Oklahoma City for the Warriors' game against the Thunder on Monday night. It'll be the Warriors' first game in Oklahoma City since Durant left the Thunder as a free agent in the offseason. After watching Durant shoot jump shots at the arena earlier in the day, Kerr reported, "He's clearly making progress. It's great." ... The Warriors improved to 31-0 when shooting 50 percent from the field. ... The Bucks' Jason Kidd, a San Francisco Bay Area native, fell to 2-6 in his coaching career against the Warriors. He compiled a 38-15 record as a player against Golden State. ... The 25-point margin of victory kept the Warriors at nine wins this season by 30 or more points, still one shy of Milwaukee's NBA-record 10 in 1971-72.