OAKLAND – The team followed their most successful trip in team history (6-0) with a workman-like 111-104 over the Portland Trailblazers.
Once again, the Warriors had to repell the blood-filled will of native son Damian Lillard, who nearly brought his Blazers back from an 18-point third-quarter deficit. But Lillard couldn’t get enough help from teammates to topple the NBA champs.
It was a diminished Warriors squad, the team started without three-fifths of their starters. Stephen Curry will likely miss his next five games with after turning his ankle in New Orleans on Dec. 4. Curry, who is now in a protective boot, will be evaluated on Dec. 19. Zaza Pachulia and Draymond Green also missed the game with shoulder injuries.
Pachulia can’t seem to get healthy after missing several games on the road trip with the injury. Green was also out with a shoulder issue, but it’s not expected to be serious. The Warriors did get Patrick McCaw back after he was cleared after sustaining a concussion in New Orleans when he was struck by DeMarcus Cousins.
With all the subs, the Warriors were ragged early, particularly defensively. Break downs led to open lay ups and dunks. The team started Jordan Bell, Omri Casspi, and Shaun Livingston along with starters Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.
But the outcome was never really in doubt, particularly after Klay Thompson’s double-clutch 3-pointer to close the half and delight the crowd. The shot stretched the Warriors’ halftime lead to 60-47.
Kevin Durant, after being freshly named the Western Conference Player of the Week, continued his torid scoring without Curry. He scored over 28 points for the fourth straight game.
As usual, Oakland native Damian Lillard poured it on against his hometown team. However, the Trailblazers never recovered after Bell rejected Lillard early in the third quarter, which started a fast break and a Durant mid-range fall away on the other end.
The Warriors pumped up their lead to 19 points after a long Thompson 3, and they basically maintained the lead throughout the quarter, entering the fourth quarter with an 18-point advantage, 83-75.
It even looked as if Durant might take the fourth quarter off, but then Portland narrowed the lead to 97-86 with 7:28 left, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr called a timeout.
But even with Durant in the game, Lillard keep pushing, slamming a dunk home and swooping in for a three-point play with five minutes left to cut into the Warriors’ lead 101-93.
Thompson ended the drama after draining a 3 from the corner with 3:06 left, to give the Warriors a 109-98 advantage.