PORTLAND, Oregon—Stephen Curry once again played only three quarters, but this time, it was solely because the Golden State Warriors were ripping the Portland Trail Blazers apart in a 128-108 win.
The Warriors improved to 34-2 as Curry showed no signs of discomfort with his left shin on Friday, three days after he limped off the court in Los Angeles and caused some concern.
There would be no worrying at Portland. Klay Thompson scored 36 points and Curry added 26, as the Warriors put on a shooting clinic for all of their fans in the Pacific Northwest. Golden State was 18 for 32 as a team from three-point range.
While Curry didn’t come back after the third with the game in hand, Thompson did and hit the shot that got Draymond Green his 10th assist.
Green finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, as well, making it four of the past five games where he has notched triple-doubles.
The three potential All-Stars were too much to handle for Portland. Damian Lillard, the Oakland native, poured in 40 points and had 10 assists, but his performance wasn’t nearly enough for the Trail Blazers to be a threat.
Elsewhere in the National Basketball Association on Friday, it was Toronto 97, Washington 88; Orlando 83, Brooklyn 77; Cleveland 125, Minnesota 99; Indiana 91, New Orleans 86; Milwaukee 96, Dallas 95; Memphis 91, Denver 84; San Antonio 100, New York 99; Miami 103, Phoenix 95; Golden State 128, Portland 108; and Oklahoma City 117, LA Lakers 113.
Right from the start, Thompson sent a message. He was five for five from three-point range on his way to scoring 19 points in the first before finishing with seven 3-pointers in 10 attempts.
The Warriors dominated the Trail Blazers, leading 12-2 after the first timeout and by 24 points before halftime. The Warriors’ 74-52 halftime lead was their second largest of the season. The game began with Curry hitting a 3-pointer, and 10 more 3-pointers would come for the Warriors before halftime.
The most adversity the Warriors would face was when the Trail Blazers took advantage of defensive lapses and cut the lead to 13. The Warriors responded with a 14-2 run in which Curry threw a no-look, over-the-shoulder lob to Andrew Bogut and Brandon Rush hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to 25.
“Once I obviously, hopefully, get through this, I’ll be back to my normal attire,” Curry said before the game, referring to the shin guard he wore at shoot-around.
“I’ll have to bring out kind of my Messi kind of mind-set tonight.”
Curry and the Warriors came to Portland seemingly wearing top hats, as well, putting on a show. With every three-pointer, the Warriors fans in the arena roared. Curry began one-for-six from long distance but finished four for 11.
The Warriors continue to roll despite Curry dealing with recent bruising to his shin, Harrison Barnes still coming off the bench after recovering from an ankle sprain, and Festus Ezeli resting up until the fourth quarter after a bout with toe soreness.
Leandro Barbosa (sprained shoulder) and James Michael McAdoo (sprained toe) remain unable to play because of injuries.
In their place, others have emerged. Rush has used his starting stint in place of Barnes to regain his confidence, as he scored 20 points on eight-for-nine shooting, including four-for-four from three-point range. Ian Clark has emerged from obscurity in Barbosa’s absence, and he hit both his 3-point attempts on Friday.
Image credits: AP