SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 A couple of X-factors showed out Wednesday night, and the only way the Warriors can make the ascent of their dreams is if this becomes a semi-consistent pattern.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s profoundly evident these Warriors have no chance of thriving if they throw all their hopes into the lap of Stephen Curry<\/a>. It\u2019s unfair. Silly, even. Same, for that matter, applies to the best of Jimmy Butler III<\/a> and Draymond Green<\/a>. All three are essential, but the rest of the roster \u2013 a battalion of X-factors \u2013 must have the ability to threaten opponents.<\/p>\n De\u2019Anthony Melton<\/a> and Al Horford<\/a> did more than that Wednesday night in a 120-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> at Chase Center. They delivered the kind of goodies the coaching staff and the Curry-Butler-Green trio have consistently insisted were within the reach of the supporting cast.<\/p>\n Melton and Horford combined for 30 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal. Melton was plus-4 over a season-high 25 minutes, and Horford was plus-9 over 19 minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cThose are two guys that connect our lineups,\u201d Green said of Melton and Horford.<\/p>\n \u201cThose two guys weren’t available much or at all early in the year, and they’re both trying to find their legs, their rhythm,\u201d Curry said. \u201cBut you can see how much of a difference they can make off the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n Melton was terrific, dropping a season-high 22 points, twice punishing the Bucks with timely 3-pointers. He scored with high efficiency, shooting 8-of-13 from the field, including 5-of-9 from deep.<\/p>\n After spending most of December searching for his shot after returning from a yearlong recovery and rehab from ACL surgery, Melton has found it.<\/p>\n Horford brought the kind of assortment bag that put a gold star on his stat line and his fingerprints on the game: eight points, on 3-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep, along with team- and season-high 10 rebounds and six assists.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re starting to get to the point where we’ve been able to bump his minutes up,\u201d coach Steve Kerr said. \u201cAnd he looks healthy. Playing him 19 minutes gave us a new heavy rotation. And he was terrific. He did everything.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the Horford the Warriors expected when they signed the 39-year-old to a contract in the offseason. Fill in the gaps, no matter what they are.<\/p>\n \u201cMy impact, I feel like it’s anything that has to do with winning and making winning plays, whether it’s rebounding, whether it’s assists,\u201d Horford said. \u201cI know I can shoot the ball, so being able to be a floor spacer for the group and shoot. Just impacting in different ways. But this was a game that a lot of that came together, which was nice for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Curry shone, Butler and Green did enough to support him.<\/p>\n Curry totaled a team-high 31 points, 13 of which came during a third quarter that allowed Golden State to take a 16-point lead (98-82) into the fourth quarter. His step-back 3-pointer with 26.1 seconds remaining extinguished Milwaukee\u2019s hope of a comeback.<\/p>\n Butler didn\u2019t shoot well (6-of-15, including 1-of-5 from distance) but managed 21 points, five rebounds and three assists. Green, playing with controlled fire, contributed 14 points, seven assists (with one turnover) and three rebounds.<\/p>\n A couple of X-factors filling in superbly allowed the core trio to survive ordinary games from Butler and Green.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s always great to have those guys stepping up, because, like we’ve said all year, we need those guys to win,\u201d Green said. \u201cIt’s not just going to be an effort of us three doing it . . . and that’s never been the answer. When you look at teams that think that’s the answer, they’ve been wrong every time. So, we depend on our guys. We trust our guys.\u201d<\/p>\n On this night, the \u201cguys\u201d the Warriors depended on were Melton and Horford, along with 18 intense minutes from Gui Santos. On another night, it might be Gary Payton II or Moses Moody or Brandin Podziemski or Quinten Post or Will Richard or Trayce Jackson-Davis or, of course, Pat Spencer.<\/p>\n They\u2019re all X-factors for Golden State, which is greatly enhanced when any two or three bring it as Horford and Melton did against the Bucks. It\u2019s the Warriors’ surest path to climbing out of eighth place in the Western Conference and into at least the top six.<\/p>\n