The Golden State Warriors are right back where they left off following their first loss of the season this past weekend. Here's an overview of the team's triumphant return to Oracle and the upcoming week in Oakland.
Last We Left The Dubs...
...the Milwaukee Bucks shocked the world by ending the Warriors' NBA record winning streak to start a regular season at 24 games. Golden State was gassed at the end of a grueling seven-game road trip, coming up short on countless jumpers and looking plain spent over the course of a 108-95 loss.
Fast forward to Wednesday after three days off and Golden State was back in dominant form during a 128-103 drubbing of the Phoenix Suns. Klay Thompson scored 27 of his 43 points in the third quarter, Stephen Curry dropped 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Draymond Green was his normal balanced self -- posting a triple-double (16 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists). It was a track meet all game long, but it was the Warriors who set the pace.
The Week Ahead
Revenge is a dish best served at Oracle Arena. The Warriors will look to pay the Bucks (10-17) back for loss #1 when they visit the Bay on Friday night. Milwaukee has lost two straight since upending the Dubs, including a dreadful road loss to a bad Los Angeles Lakers squad.
After Friday, the Warriors will get an early four-day holiday break before locking horns with the Utah Jazz (10-14) on Wednesday in game 3 of their current homestand. Utah's offense has been dismal during a four-game losing streak, as the Jazz have failed to crack 100 points since last Thursday's win over the Knicks.
The main event of the week, of course, is the Warriors' home game on Christmas in an NBA Finals rematch vs. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavs. Cavs star PG Kyrie Irving, who missed games 2 through 6 in the NBA Finals, is slated to be in uniform that week after missing the entire season thus far.
Promotions
It's another Authentic Fan Friday when the Warriors host the Bucks. All fans in attendance will receive a Klay Thompson Authentic Fan Cheer Card, with those sitting in the Authentic Fan section (212) receiving some extra swag.
On Wednesday, the first 10,000 through the gates for the team's game against the Jazz will receive a Shaun Livingston bobblehead. There will also be a Warriors Dance Team Clinic where you can bust some moves on the court at halftime!
The week closes out with Authentic Fan Friday on XMas, complete with a Draymond Green Authentic Fan Cheer Card. The big promotional draw however is the Christmas Whiteout, as all fans will receive their very own whiteout shirt to wear during the game!
You can view all upcoming Oracle Arena/Warriors promotions at this link.
Injuries
Harrison Barnes remains week-to-week with his ankle injury. He won't play on Friday and will be reevaluated by the training staff/doctors sometime at the end of this week. He has been out since getting hurt in Phoenix back on November 27th.
What They're Saying About Golden State
Charles Barkley says Bulls' 72-win team would "kill" Warriors (Yahoo! Sports)
Warriors out for revenge against Bucks, Walton "all for it" (CSN Bay Area)
Burger Kings: Steph Curry, Drake visit In-N-Out (San Jose Mercury News)
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