ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — Two nights after Stephen Curry came back from an MCL injury and gave an epic comeback performance to help the Golden State Warriors take a 3-1 series lead in the 2016 Western Conference Semifinals, they were back at #Roaracle to try and close out the Portland Trail Blazers (1-3).
The Warriors were without Kevon Looney (left hip surgery) and James McAdoo. The Blazers were without Meyers Leonard (shoulder) and Cliff Alexander (inactive).
Before tipoff, NBA commissioner Adam Silver handed Curry his second straight MVP trophy:
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1st Quarter – Slow Start
The Blazers were patient out of the gate, getting two threes from Maurice Harkless and a jumper from C.J. McCollum after extensive passing.
Meanwhile, Klay Thompson got a jumper from a drop-bounce pass by Andrew Bogut and hit a layup on a cut, fed by Draymond Green. Bogut was also the beneficiary of a drop-pass after Curry got an entry pass in the lane, but Steph also missed an open three from the left corner.
With 8:08 remaining, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called timeout with 8:08 remaining and the Blazers up, 12-8.
After the timeout, the Blazers pushed ahead as far as 20-10 after Damian Lillard got a reach-in call on Bogut and finished the “and-one” with a step-and-a-half and a flip shot over Green. Harkless also had a jump hook over Bogut, then couldn’t handle an entry pass from Draymond, which led to McCollum free throws on the other end, but McCollum missed both.
Curry split a double-team from the deep left wing past McCollum for a pull-up straightaway, then Green stopped Harkless:
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On the miss, Leandro Barbosa, who had come in for Klay, raced ahead and scored a layup, with Marreese Speights all the way out from the Warriors’ bench on the baseline, ready to give a high-five and get a timeout call from Portland head coach Terry Stotts, but the timeout never came and Barbosa had to abort and hurry back on defense.
Later on the next Golden State possession, Barbosa flipped a behind-the-back pass to Curry in the left corner that went awry, after Steph did a walk-away that went south:
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However, Curry saved the ball, behind-the-back style as well, to Bogut, who gave it right back for a triple:
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Oracle went crazy and, this time, Stotts called the timeout as the Warriors closed the gap to 20-17 with 4:34 to play.
After the timeout, Golden State took a momentary lead as Bogut got an alley-oop via lob from the waist from Curry…
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…Iguodala converted free throws on a hack in transition by McCollum, Barbosa got free throws, plus a layup on a nice bouncer from Iguodala.
But Lillard and Allen Crabbe answered with three-pointers, Steph committed an over-and-back turnover, Draymond missed a two-for-one trey attempt, and his lead pass on the last possession for Curry didn’t go far enough (turnover), and the Blazers took a 30-27 lead into the second stanza.
Lillard led all scorers with 12 points. Barbosa led the Warriors with 6.
2nd Quarter – Reaching In Too Much
Portland jumped out to a 35-27 lead as the Golden State bench unit couldn’t muster anything, getting skunked in the opening two minutes as Speights missed three jumpers. Kerr called a timeout with 10:05 to go.
Shaun Livingston got things going with two jumpers, but McCollum responded with two of his own. Then Speights missed from point-blank range, but Harkless couldn’t convert from the right side of the lane, and Harrison Barnes gave an upfake from the top and darted past Harkless for a layup that trickled in, despite the harm.
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Barnes missed the “and-one” opportunity, but the Warriors woke up again, with this Draymond block of Ed Davis…
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…playing “tic-tac-toe” as Steph passed the Green, who found Livingston cutting on the left side for an emphatic one-hand jam.
Harkless missed again, this time off the board from the left side, Barnes rebounded, Curry tried some dazzle from the left side, reset back to Draymond at the top, and Klay swished a deep three from where Curry was just standing, on the catch upon receipt of Green’s pass.
Stotts recognized the spark and called timeout, with the Blazers up, 41-38, with 7:01 left.
Things started to go a bit downhill for the Warriors as Al-Farouq Aminu hit two triples, one off a second-chance opportunity and the other one this banker:
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In between those plays, Aminu drew a questionable foul call on Green on a feeble attack with Draymond’s hands straight up. Green seemed to have gotten all ball on the replay.
Draymond tried to get things going and drew fouls on Davis and Harkless, but Green only hit one of two on each trip.
But finally the Warriors got some momentum as Curry got a finger roll assisted by Bogut, and Klay hit two jumpers:
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Stotts immediately called another timeout with 3:31 remaining, Portland still up, 51-47.
Out of the timeout, Lillard hit this stepback over Klay…
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…and Green picked up a technical after getting called for a bad screen.
Later, Festus Ezeli got fouled twice, hitting all four free throws, plus a little help from Oracle’s rim (and backboard!):
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To close out the half, Lillard manufactured two free throws on a reach-in by Barnes, and Thompson missed a jumper from the baseline before the buzzer, with Lillard’s slap of the forearm uncalled.
The Blazers took a 63-58 lead into halftime, as Lillard led all scorers with 21 points, 9 of them from the line, while Klay led the Warriors with 17 points on 7-for-8 field, the only miss the last non-whistle.
Curry had just 7 points on 3-for-9 shooting and 1-for-5 downtown, and Green tallied 6-5-4, while Golden State had an assist on all 13 made field goals, but they committed 7 turnovers and Portland went 18-for-21 from the charity stripe.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @warriors)
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