warriors game day: sights & sounds from moda center portland (Photo: Warriors.com)
MODA CENTER, PORTLAND, OR — This was yet another highly anticipated matchup between two of the Western Conference’s up-and-coming teams, with the Portland Trail Blazers in the 4th position of the playoff race, with the Golden State Warriors trailing by just 2.5 games.
PRE-GAME
Saturday afternoon after practice, after a night that saw them lose a game to the 14-under-.500 Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors flew to Portland. The next day, Stephen Curry was spotted walking near the team hotel and he signed some autographs.
Fast forward to the pregame shootaround, and it was apparent that Klay Thompson has made his two- or three-stop flight from The Bahamas to Portland in one piece save for the “Klaycial” hair. Coach Mark Jackson would announce that Harrison Barnes would start, then re-announce that Thompson would start.
IN-GAME
The Warriors started out competitive, but soon the game turned ugly for them. The starters couldn’t buy a bucket. With 2:29 remaining in the first period, David Lee found himself with 10 of the Dubs’ 14 points, a point of attack considering the Blazers were missing LaMarcus Aldridge due to injury and inserted a 3-man Dorell Wright in his place, to cover Lee.
However, by the end of the quarter, the Blazers took a 24-23 lead and both teams were shooting 10-for-23 (43.5%) from the field.
With 4:05 to go in the 2nd quarter, the Blazers had taken a double-digit lead, 43-33. Portland was on a 14-2 run and Curry remained scoreless, prompting these comments on our @letsgowarriors Instagram account:
- “How can anyone take the Warriors seriously? They can’t beat anyone when it counts lol they’re getting swept in the first round assuming they even hold on to a spot. Fire Jackson. He doesn’t know how to handle subs. It’s awful.”
- “mark jackson is garbage”
By halftime, it was Blazers 55, Warriors 44 and Golden State was shooting 19-for-49 from the field, 2-for-13 from beyond the arc, while getting out-rebounded 23-31. The only thing the Warriors fans could feel good about at was Dan Aykroyd‘s bald spot.
With 6:13 to go in the 3rd quarter, the Blazers were up big, 72-56. The Warriors were now 2-for-16 from three.
At that point, Curry started to will the Warriors back. He crossed Wes Matthews with a three-pointer.
Curry brought the Warriors back to a more manageable 85-77 deficit. Shots like this rainbow by part of his 22 points totaled through three quarters (remember, he was scoreless until about four minutes remaining in the first half).
Thanks to Curry’s 27 points, the Warriors cut the lead to an astounding 89-91 with 8:18 left in the game. However, Draymond Green, who had been playing great, fouled out on a 50/50 call.
With 5:40 to go, the Warriors finally led, 97-96. In the second half, Thompson scored 15 of 19 points, while Curry tallied 24 of his 33 points up until that point.
Then Thompson hit two huge threes:
The Warriors somehow escaped the Moda Center with a 113-112 win. Thompson had 27 points and Curry 37.
POST-GAME
The #SplashBrothers shot chart tonight was mighty green. #DubNation was able to locate their secret lucky charm: the Super Splash Brothers, Mario and Luigi.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
