Behind the Bucks Pass
Fansided

Milwaukee Bucks: Revisiting the 24-1 game three years later

By Robby Cowles

Milwaukee, WI - DECEMBER 12: The fans of Milwaukee Bucks cheer them on during the game against the Golden State Warriors on December 12, 2015 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Jeffrey Phelps/NBAE via Getty Images)
Milwaukee, WI - DECEMBER 12: The fans of Milwaukee Bucks cheer them on during the game against the Golden State Warriors on December 12, 2015 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Jeffrey Phelps/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 11: (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 11: (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Before the game: Golden State

Before we get into the actual game, let’s set the table for what would end up being a historic night. Everyone knows that the Warriors came in at 24-0, but their actual winning streak was even longer.

Dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season, the Warriors had won 28 straight regular season games, which at the time, and to this day, is the second-longest regular season winning streak in NBA history. The only team who has won more regular season games in a row is the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33 straight before their streak also came to an end at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Warriors were not only riding high off their win streak but also from capturing the franchise’s first NBA championship since 1975. The Warriors were just hitting their stride as the dynasty that would rule the NBA over the next couple of seasons.

Stephen Curry was coming off an MVP winning season (he would also capture the MVP award this season), Klay Thompson was doing Klay Thompson things, and Draymond Green hadn’t yet cost the Warriors a championship by attacking LeBron James‘ genitals.

The Warriors’ game in Milwaukee was the last game of a seven-game road trip for Golden State. From November 30 to December 11, the Warriors won road games against the Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics.

They’d been tested during the trip too, eking out a 106-103 win in Utah and a 112-109 win in Toronto.

Golden State’s biggest test, though, came the night before they visited Milwaukee, in Boston. They survived a double-overtime thriller against the Celtics to maintain their streak at 24-0. The Celtics were an upstart team out-performing expectations (it was Brad Stevens’ first year as head coach), so the fact they gave the juggernaut Warriors trouble showed some invulnerability on the part of Golden State.

So, not only was Golden State playing on the road on a Saturday night in Milwaukee, but they were less than 24 hours removed from a double-overtime slugfest with the scrappy Celtics, that also happened to be their sixth game in 12 days.

The only good news for the Warriors was that Thompson had missed the Boston game because of a sprained ankle, so he was at least relatively fresh against the Bucks, albeit slightly hampered.

The NBA schedulers had done no favors for Golden State on this trip, and it ended up creating a perfect storm for their opponents, the Milwaukee Bucks.

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