Trailing at halftime, Golden State shut it down in the third quarter and came back strong to take a 3-0 series lead over Portland.
The Golden State Warriors had a comeback for the ages tonight as they overcame a double-digit deficit to defeat the Portland Trailblazers 119-113.
It wasn’t the largest comeback of all time, nor even of the season. And it didn’t win the series, or even tie the series. There was nothing particularly significant about this win. But it was fun. My goodness, was it fun.
This was probably Portland’s best shot at a win in this series, with Kevin Durant and Shaun Livingston sitting out with injuries and head coach Steve Kerr out with an illness. Add in an ice cold Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the first half and a fiery C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard and it was looking like Portland was going to run away with this one.
But Klay Thompson wasn’t having that and neither was the defense. Started by a layup from Curry and a majestic dunk from JaVale McGee, the Warriors went on a 19-1 run midway through the third quarter, with Thompson scoring eleven and forcing a turnover that led to back-to-back 3-point shots.
Trailing 87-88 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Warriors had the energy dial turned up to 11 as Andre Iguodala turned into the dunk monster of Portland’s nightmares and the Warriors shut it down with nine points from Curry to close it out.
Despite a less than ideal 18-46 shooting performance from Curry and Thompson combined, they scored 34 and 24 respectively. Meanwhile, Iguodala and McGee combined for 30 points off the bench and played great defense.
Patrick McCaw, who got his second start of this series, played wonderfully, putting up 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and a soaring block and showed some real play-making ability, most notably an offensive rebound in the fourth quarter to set up a 3-point shot for Curry to push the lead to six.
Draymond Green continues to be Mr. Do-It-All as he put up nine points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals and six, count them, six blocks.
So, no, this game might not have meant too much. But it was fun. And it was heartening. They came from behind without their head coach or Durant. They came from behind with their stars shooting bricks. They came from behind and squashed the hopes of Portland fans who were hoping to see their team win one more game this season. And maybe they still will! But we’d prefer they don’t, if it’s all the same to you.