Portland Trail Blazers forward Drew Eubanks, middle, reaches for the ball between Golden State Warriors forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. (7) and forward Anthony Lamb during the first half at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Tue Feb 28, 2023 (AP News photo)
By Jerry Feitelberg
What a game! Still, without Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors hosted the Portland Trailblazers at the Chase Center in San Francisco Tuesday night and helped with a comeback win over the Blazers 123-105. The Warriors were hoping to get a win over Portland to avenge the 125-122 loss in Portland on February 8th and they did in a big way.
The Warriors knew it would not be easy as the Blazer’s star guard, Damian Lillard, scored 71 points Sunday night. The Warriors had to find a way to contain Lillard. If they couldn’t, the Warriors would lose the game. It looked that way as the Blazers pounded the Warriors in the first quarter.
The Blazers outscored the Warriors 41-27. The Blazers made five threes to get things rolling. The Warriors found their defense in the second quarter. They held the Blazers to 24 points. The Warrior offense was out of sync in the quarter as they tallied 21 points. The stadium was quiet as Portland blew the Warriors away in the first half by a score of 65-48. The Warriors trailed by 23 at one point in the second quarter. A late rally cut the deficit to 17.
The Warriors made 11 turnovers in the first half. The Blazers took advantage and put 16 points on the board due to the turnovers. The Blazers made 13 free throws. The Warriors made seven. Lillard finished the first half with 19. Jerami Grant had 14 for the Blazers.
The Warriors had a lot to think about during the halftime intermission. Steve Kerr had to adjust his game plan, hoping to get his team back on track. The Answer was-attack the basket. The team that came out to play the second half looked entirely different. The Warriors drove to the basket.
The Warriors found the Blazers’ defense to be quite porous. The Warriors, led by Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson, propelled the team to the lead 89-82 at the end of the third period. Thompson and Poole each tallied 12 points each. The Warriors defense held the Blazers to 17 points in the quarter while the offense scored 39. The Warriors held Lillard to four points in the period.
The Warriors kept the pressure going in the fourth quarter. They continued to score points in the paint. All five of the Warrior starters were in double figures. The Warriors went from being down by 23 points to win the game by 18. It was an amazing turnaround. The Warriors won the second half 75-40 and the game.
Game Notes: The Warriors won their third straight to improve to 32-30. The Blazers fell to 29-32. The Warriors’ home record now stands at 25-7
Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 29 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Poole made three threes. Thompson, who had seven points in the first half, tallied 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Thompson also made three threes. The Blazers double-teamed Thompson all night, but Thompson, as he has done so many times in his career, kept on shooting.
He knew he would find the range, and he did in the second half. Donte DiVincenzo had another outstanding game. DiVincenzo made five threes and finished with 21 points. Kevon Looney added 14 points and seven boards. Looney, as usual, was in the right spot, and his buckets helped the Warriors win the game.
Draymond Green is back after missing two games with a knee contusion and almost had a triple-double. Green knocked down 12 points, had nine rebounds, and eight assists. Jonathan Kuminga, coming off the bench, added 16 points and three rebounds.
The Blazers dominated the first half. The Warriors dominated the second half. Damian Lillard finished with 25. Lillard was held to six points in the second half. The Warrior defense kept the ball out of Lillard’s hands in the final 24 minutes of the game. Jerami Grant had 24 for the Blazers.
Most of Grant’s points came at the free-throw line. Matisse Thybulle made five threes in six tries. He finished with 15. Shaedon Sharpe had 13, and Cam Reddish had ten.
The Blazers shot 50 % from the floor in the first half and 43% for the game. The Warriors defense stopped them cold in the second half. The Warriors were 54% from the floor. Each team made 12 threes.
The Warriors challenged the Blazers’ defense in the second half. The Warriors scored an amazing 66 points in the paint.
The Warriors meet the LA Clippers Thursday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7 pm.
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