It wasn't easy, but Andrew Bogut and his Golden State Warriors secured the win and continued their march toward an NBA Championship.
The Warriors defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 97-87 in Oakland on Monday as Bogut recorded a game-high 14 rebounds and 3 blocked shots in an immense defensive effort.
The victory gives the top-seeded Warriors a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven opening round of the NBA Playoffs, with game three in New Orleans on Thursday.
The young Pelicans led by All-Star forward Anthony Davis sprinted to a 28-17 first quarter lead, but Warriors' guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson shot their way back into the game and at the end of the third quarter the teams were tied 71-71.
The Warriors' defence was the difference, with Bogut and forward Draymond Green shutting Davis down in the final quarter.
Davis had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the game, but didn't shoot a field goal in the final quarter.
"We try to put a lot of pressure on him with Bogut and Draymond," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
"We were throwing the kitchen sink at him.
"It was fantastic.
"We feel like that is the identity of our team - our defence."
Bogut had five points to go with his blocks and rebounds, the buckets came from a free throw and two sensational dunks.
The first came in the opening quarter when the Australian centre ran the length of the court, received a pinpoint bounce pass from teammate Andre Iguodala and slammed it with his right hand
The second came with a minute to go, when Curry cut through the key and flicked it back to Bogut who put an exclamation point on the win.
Curry and Thompson were lethal, scoring 22 and 26 respectively.
In Chicago, Australian rookie power forward Cameron Bairstow didn't get off the bench, but his Chicago Bulls did not need him.
The Bulls moved to a 2-0 series lead over the Milwaukee Bucks with a 91-82 win in Chicago on the back of guard Jimmy Butler's 31 points.
It was a fiery game, with Bucks centre Zaza Pachulia ejected with 2:48 left after shoving Chicago's Nikola Mirotic while fighting over a loose ball.
Butler scored 14 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, who extended Milwaukee's playoff losing streak to eight games.
"So far so good," Pau Gasol said.
"We just played two games and won both of them. Rebounding is a key factor, especially this time of year. We have to keep working on it."
Bulls guard Derrick Rose added 15 points and nine assists after being held scoreless in the first half.
Share
