Decimated by injuries and fresh off a 42-point loss at Sacramento on Wednesday, the Chicago Bulls were ripe for the picking.
Or maybe not.
Former Warrior Nate Robinson scored 20 points in just three quarters and Chicago quickly put its disastrous performance behind it with a 113-95 win against Golden State Friday at Oracle Arena.
The loss leaves the Warriors (37-30) a half-game ahead of Houston for the No. 6 spot in the Western-Conference standings with 15 games left and caps their season-long seven-game home stand with a 4-3 record.
It was the second standout performance against the Warriors this season for Robinson, who briefly attended James Logan High in Union City. He also went for 22 points in the Bulls' 103-87 win in Chicago on Jan. 25.
"Nate was great for me (last year)," said Warriors coach Mark Jackson at the Friday shootaround. "I love him and I'm happy for him. He certainly made my job easier last year."
It was the opposite on Friday.
Robinson started his sixth straight game in place of injured Kirk Hinrich, who was sidelined along with Taj Gibson and Richard Hamilton.
Robinson's counterpart at the point, Stephen Curry, finished just 2-of-13 from the field and went without a three for the first time in 53 consecutive games. The streak ranked as the second-longest active streak in the NBA behind Kyle Korver (57).
Curry was far from alone in his offensive struggles. The starting-five combined to score just 43 points.
After shooting just 36.8 percent against the Kings, Chicago finished 43-of-83 (51.8 percent) and was aided by a 19-of-22 night from the free-throw line.
Joahkim Noah, a teammate of David Lee on the 2004-05 Florida Gators team which was eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds and Luol Deng led all scorers with 23 points.
Chicago jumped out to a 20-10 lead at the 5:27 mark of the first quarter, but the Warriors closed on a 17-8 run to make it 28-27 at the end of the quarter. Both teams were 12-of-21 from the field in the first, but Golden State cooled off significantly after that.
The Warriors were 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) in the second quarter as the Bulls began to pull away. Chicago led 56-46 at halftime and extended the lead to 21 less than four minutes into the second half courtesy of a Robinson three.
As if things couldn't get much worse for Golden State, Andris Biedrins -- seeing his first playing time after four consecutive benchings -- air-balled a free throw with the Warriors trailing by 27 later in the quarter.
Kent Bazemore scored a career-high 14 points in 12 minutes off the bench.
Draymond Green had been listed as questionable due to a bone bruise in his left ankle, but after going through shootaround in the morning, it was determined he was good to go. Green was held scoreless in 16 minutes.
Next up -- at Houston, Sunday
Biggest game of the season? A loss drops Golden State to the No. 7 spot in the West, which at season's end would likely mean a first-round matchup with either San Antonio or Oklahoma City.
Houston has won all three against the Warriors this year, including a 140-109 shellacking the first time in Houston.
Scoreboard Watching
Houston 108, Minnesota 100: Houston (36-30) overcame an 18-point halftime deficit behind 37 points from James Harden and 24 from Jeremy Lin and now sit just a half-game behind Golden State.
Lakers 99, Indiana 93: Despite his "severe" ankle sprain, Kobe Bryant started for Los Angeles (35-32), but did not return after playing the entire first quarter. Bryant didn't score, but it didn't matter as five Lakers scored at least 15 points, including 20 from Dwight Howard.
Dallas 96, Cleveland 86: The Mavericks (31-34) remain three games back of Los Angles for the final playoff spot.
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