Warriors Chase Down Trail Blazers for Huge Win

Enmeshed in a 10-team Battle Royale for seeding in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers desperately needed a win on Tuesday night versus the Golden State Warriors to back up their Sunday victory against the Houston Rockets. For two quarters, it looked like they’d get it. Behind amazing scoring and passing from Damian Lillard, the Blazers built a 23-point lead in the first half, preserving 17 of it heading into intermission. But a devastating third quarter from the Warriors erased, then reversed, Portland’s edge, leading to a hard-fought fourth.

Unfortunately the Blazers proved both tired and undermanned in that final period. A box-and-one defense against Lillard kept him from getting shots off. His teammates couldn’t produce any points outside of the foul line. The cumulative effect produced a 123-105 Warriors win, disappointing considering Portland’s place in the standings and the hypothetical ease of winning a game that you lead by two dozen points.

Lillard scored 25 in the loss, shooting 9-21 from the field. Jerami Grant added 24, courtesy of 13-15 shooting from the foul line. Matisse Thybulle shot 5-6 from the three-point arc. Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 29 and Klay Thompson added 23.

First Quarter

The Warriors must have read the headlines from Sunday night, as they started the game double-teaming Lillard like he was the only player on the floor. Dame’s passes looked ludicrously easy under those circumstances. He found Mattise Thybulle for a three directly, also Drew Eubanks who passed to Thybulle and Cam Reddish for two more, giving Lillard the hockey assist.

Those triples put the Blazers up 11-4. But Golden State got their own three-point strikes from Jordan Poole, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson, closing the gap quickly. Eubanks remained a terror on the offensive glass, though, as Thybulle forced a pair of turnovers on the other end. It was a cobbled-together approach, but serviceable.

For all the Warriors tried, their defense just wasn’t up to the task early. Lillard beat a soft double-team for a three, then Nassir Little swished from the coffin corner, completely undefended in the same spot Thybulle had splashed from before.

But these are the Trail Blazers. Criticizing someone else’s defense is like cheesecake criticizing yogurt for being fatty. The Warriors continued to hit from deep as well, keeping them close even though Lillard scored again on a drive.

Portland did rebound well and force turnovers, through the middle minutes. Then Lillard started getting downright hot at the lead expanded exponentially.

When Lillard sat, Little got even more active on offense, keeping his team comfortably ahead despite Golden State suddenly discovering they could score inside. The Warriors reversed the rebounding trend late, pounding the smaller Blazers bench with offensive…