The Golden State Warriors remained patient in free agency during the offseason, knowing that their primary targets of Al Horford and De'Anthony Melton would eventually sign and become a critical part of the team.
That vision was justified at Chase Center on Wednesday night, with Melton and Horford playing huge roles in an important 120-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks to kickstart their eight-game homestand.
Warriors vindicated for strong free agency moves against visiting Bucks
Melton has been trending up since his return from a long-term knee injury last month, but the latest outburst was his best as the 27-year-old went for a season-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and 5-of-9 from 3-point range in 25 minutes off the bench.
Horford was also impressive particularly in the first-half, stuffing the box score with eight points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Melton and Horford were part of a strong bench unit, with Gui Santos again providing an important spark while Brandin Podziemski finished as a game-high +19 despite shooting just 1-of-5 from the floor.
Wide open trey 8️⃣
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 8, 2026
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After a horror shooting display in Monday's agonizing 103-102 loss to the L.A. Clippers, the Warriors responded in shooting 48.9% from the floor and over 38% from beyond the arc. Melton and Horford combined for seven threes, while Moses Moody and Draymond Green also drilled three triples apiece as part of the starting lineup.
As usual, it was Stephen Curry who led the way as the Golden State superstar dropped 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, having gone head-to-head with Giannis Antetokounmpo who did his thing for the visitors with 34 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in less than 31 minutes.
The teams went back-and-forth for most of the first-half, but foul trouble for Antetokounmpo allowed the Warriors to go on a 11-0 run late which helped them take a 64-53 lead. They extended that to 17 at one point in the second-half, having always remained in control despite the Bucks making a number of concerted pushes down the stretch.
One of the primary reasons Golden State kept Milwaukee at bay was because they didn't needlessly give the ball away, committing just eight turnovers on the night in a hopeful sign of things to come as they look to build momentum.
The Warriors have again moved two games beyond .500 at 20-18 on the season, with the lowly Sacramento Kings next to visit on Friday night.