The Warriors suffered their worst loss of the season, falling 137-105 to the Trail Blazers in their first game after the All-Star break.
GAME LEADERS
The Warriors have grown accustomed to getting their opponents’ best shot, and Friday night marked a rare occasion in which they didn’t have an answer. The 137-105 loss in Portland marked this season’s largest margin of defeat for the Dubs, who saw their 11-game winning streak come to an end as they fell to 48-5 on the season.
A nightmare of a third quarter buried the Warriors in this one. They had almost as many turnovers (13) in the period as they did shots (15), and they couldn’t get any stops on the other end. Portland outscored the Warriors 36-17 in the quarter, and the Dubs entered the final quarter down by 25 points.
The Dubs didn’t have many bright spots in the game, but one of them was Stephen Curry. The reigning MVP knocked down six of his seven 3-pointers in the first half and led the Warriors with 31 points, engaging in an entertaining dual with Oakland native Damian Lillard.
The Portland guard had it going all night, pouring in a career-high 51 points after hitting nine of his 12 3-pointers. Lillard, who had a 40-point game against the Dubs earlier this season, got especially hot in the final quarter with 21 points in less than seven and a half minutes. Lillard paced the Trail Blazers on a night in which the Dubs yielded more points than they have in any other game this season.
While Lillard was hot, the Warriors’ offense was pretty much the exact opposite. Playing their first game after the long All-Star break, the Dubs shot just 39.1 percent from the field. In addition to Curry’s 31 points, fellow All-Star and Splash Brother Klay Thompson had 23 points and Draymond Green had 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, but the Warriors were otherwise sloppy on a night that that saw them tally 20 turnovers.
The Warriors won’t have time to dwell on this defeat, as they play the back end of a back-to-back on Saturday when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers for a nationally televised primetime matchup (5:30 p.m.; ABC).