Butler scores 24 and Warriors win without Curry, 104-93 over Bucks

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 24 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists and the Golden State Warriors, playing without Stephen Curry, beat the Milwaukee Bucks 104-93 on Tuesday night.

Curry, who recently became the first player in NBA history to make 4,000 3-pointers, was given the night off for a mental and emotional break by Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

Buddy Hield had 15 points and six rebounds off the bench to help the Warriors improve to 5-1 on a seven-game homestand. Brandin Podziemski started in place of Curry and had 17 points and seven rebounds.

With 13 games remaining in the regular season, Golden State is 40-39 and remains in the No. 6 slot in the Western Conference.

Kyle Kuzma made five 3-pointers and scored 22 points to pace the Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo added 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez each scored 16.

Bucks: Milwaukee couldn’t overcome a sluggish start and played from behind most of the night. Now it’s on to face Western Conference contenders the Lakers, Kings, Suns and Nuggets.

Warriors: Golden State improved to 7-3 this season and 91-150 overall in games without Curry

After Gary Trent Jr. missed a potentially tying 3-point attempt late in the fourth quarter, Podziemski came down and nailed his third 3 of the night to help secure the win.

For the sixth time this season Antetokounmpo made more free throws (10) than he did shots (five).

The Warriors conclude their season-high seven-game homestand against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. Milwaukee heads to Los Angeles to play the Lakers on Thursday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski (2) shoots while defended by Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors center Quinten Post (21) dunks next to Milwaukee Bucks forward Taurean Prince (12) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, second from right, talks with Buddy Hield during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks in San Francisco, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Golden State Warriors' Jimmy Butler, right, drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks' Gary Trent Jr. (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)