Warriors vs. Trail Blazers 2/28/2023

The Warriors entered this game riding a 2 game win streak that put them at 7th in the west with 31 wins and 30 losses. The Trail Blazers came into this game riding the momentum of a blowout win over the Rockets in which Damian Lillard scored 71 points with 13 threes. The Blazers entered this game 2 games below five hundred and tied for the final spot in the play-in tournament. The Warriors were favored in this game as it was a home game for them and they were 24-7 at home leading up to this. They were still without Stephen Curry who has been out for over 3 weeks. Wiggins would not appear in this game either for the Warriors. Klay had stepped up for the Warriors in the games prior and had been averaging 25.7 points during February. Draymond Green would come back from injury and start this game to potentially give the Warriors a boost in this game. The Blazers were on the opposite end of this spectrum though as 2 of their best players in Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkić would be out for them in this game. This was an important game for both teams as they are both looking to surge into the playoffs during the second half of the season. Some of the keys to the game for the Blazers would be keeping Klay bottled up and getting ahead early. The main thing for the Warriors would be making sure that Dame would not be able to get rolling and ride the momentum from his last game. Would the Warriors be able to neutralize Damian Lillard and get the win or would the Blazers pull out an upset? To the game!

Kevon Looney won the tip for the Warriors but they were unable to capitalize. Damian Lillard scored the first points of the game with a step-back 2. Matisse Thybulle then made a 3 on the next Blazers possession to take a 5-0 lead. Kevon Looney scored the Warriors’ first points with a layup. Following a few back and forth possessions that left the Blazers with a 15-13 lead, the Trail Blazers took a timeout at 6:59. The Blazers then made a couple of threes while Draymond Green made a layup to make the score 21-15 Blazers as the Warriors took a timeout at 5:33. Donte DiVincenzo came straight out of the timeout and made a 3 at 5:21. The Blazers started to gain traction and Damian Lillard hit a 3 to give the Blazers an 11 point lead. At 2:58, Jonathan Kuminga punched down a dunk to end a 10-0 Blazers run. Steve Kerr was forced to take another timeout at 1:35 due to an 8-2 run that gave the Blazers a 17 point lead. The Warriors ended the first quarter with a couple of nice drives and some nice defense. The Blazers led 41-27 at the end of the first. Damian Lillard led both teams with 15 points at the end of the first.

The second quarter started off with a DiVincenzo 3 at 11:33. The Blazers scored their first points of the quarter with a Jerami Grant jumper at 9:05. At 7:40, Draymond Green was subbed out of the game for Kevon Looney and headed into the locker room to check out a potential wrist injury. The Trail Blazers took a 20 point lead at 5:48 with a Drew Eubanks floater. At 5:20, Draymond subbed back into the game which lessened worries about the aforementioned injury. At 2:34, the Blazers took a timeout leaving the score at 60-40 as they had maintained their lead for about 3 minutes. The deficit remained around 20 points until the end of the quarter where Jordan Poole made a layup that cut the deficit to 17. The score was 65-48 Blazers at halftime. The Blazers won the second quarter 24-21. Damian Lillard led the Trailblazers with 19 points at the break. The team shot 52% from the field and 42% from 3 in the first half. The Warriors were much less efficient going 40% from the field and 31% from 3. The Warriors had 11 turnovers that led to 16 points in the first half while the Blazers had just 2 points off turnovers in the first half. If the Warriors wanted to mount a comeback in the second half they would have to bottle up Lillard and minimize turnovers. To the third!

To start the third quarter, Donte DiVincenzo made a floater. At 10:13, Kevon Looney got a put-back dunk to cut the deficit to 15. At 7:02, the Trail Blazers were forced to take a timeout after a Kevon Looney layup cut their lead to 12. At 6:37, Damian Lillard fouled Jordan Poole on a step-back 3 to give him 3 free throws that he would go on to make. The free throws cut the Blazer lead to 9. A minute later at the 5:36 mark Jordan Poole made a 3 off of an inbound to make it a 4 point game. At 5:08, Damian Lillard picked up his fourth foul on a call that was challenged by head coach Chauncey Billups but was not overturned. The failed challenge meant that Lillard would only have 2 fouls before potentially fouling out and Portland would lose a timeout. Klay Thompson made a fadeaway jumper on the following play to make it a one possession game. At 1:46, Klay Thompson made a 3 to give the Warriors a 1 point lead. Draymond Green ended the quarter by making one of 2 free throws to put the Warriors up 5. The Warriors won the third quarter by 22 points. The Warriors won it 39-17 to take an 87-82 lead going into the fourth. The Warriors had 22 points in the paint in the strong third quarter.

Jordan Poole made a deep 3 to start the fourth quarter. The Trail Blazers scored their first points of the quarter at 10:51 with 2 Jerami Grant free throws. At 10:14, Jordan Poole made a shifty layup to put the Warriors up 10. Steve Kerr then called a timeout at 8:56 after the Blazers cut the Warriors’ lead back down to 6. The Warriors brought the lead back up to 11 with an Anthony Lamb dunk at 8:53. This prompted a Blazer timeout. At 4:35, Jonathan Kuminga made a mid-range jumper to vault the Warrior lead to 15. Over the course of the next 2 minutes the Warriors brought the lead up to 16 points. At 2:43, Donte DiVincenzo made a 3 to give the Warriors a 19 point lead. A foul was then committed so that the Warriors could sub in some younger players. This signified that the Warriors had sealed the win. After a few more buckets from both teams Ty Jerome dibbled it out to secure a 123-105 win for the Warriors.

Leo’s Courtside Commentary:

This was a terrific game for the Warriors as they notched their 32nd win of the season and vaulted themselves into fifth place in the Western Conference. The loss for the Trail Blazers bumped them down to 11th in the west and made their record 29-32. The Trail Blazers once led by 23 points in this game in the middle of the second quarter. Portland was up by 17 at the halfway point but a 23-4 run in the third quarter brought the Warriors back into it. The Warriors won the fourth quarter as well and closed out the game. A huge part of the Warriors’ comeback was holding Damian Lillard to a measly 6 points in the second half. The Warriors were also able to keep the Trail Blazers as a whole to just 40 points in the second half which was fewer than they had in the first quarter. Jordan Poole was a huge factor as well with many key drives to the basket while Lillard was in foul trouble. Poole ended the game with 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Klay Thompson was great for the Warriors as well with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. Damian Lillard led the Blazers offensively with 26 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Jerami Grant had 24 points for the Blazers to follow Lillard. As a team, the Blazers ended up shooting 43% from the field and 31% from 3. The Warriors on the other hand shot quite well with 54% from the field and 40% from behind the arc. Overall, this was a great comeback where the Warriors played great defense and eventually figured it out offensively.