The Warriors arrived in Portland and beat down the Trail Blazers 132-95. They were led by their point guard and All-Star MVP Steph Curry. The Warriors had 8 players with double-digit scoring and it was a team effort that helped them win. They had 36 Assists in total with Steph having 14 of them.
The Trail Blazers have been hot for the past 3-to 4 games and were coming in with their young guard Anfernee Simons who was averaging 30 points through the last 3 games. While Anfernee did have a good game with 24 points, it wasn’t enough as he had minimal help. Both Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic were out of the game due to injuries and only Josh Hart-12 points, Justice Winslow-14 points, and Brandon Williams-12 points had double-digit scoring.
The Warriors had Steph leading the way with 18 points and 14 assists, Klay Thompson with 18 points and 5 rebounds, Jonathan Kuminga with 17 points,8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and Kevon Looney with 10 points and Jordan Poole with 15 points. The Warriors also outrebounded the Trail Blazers, 46 to 31.
The win doesn’t have much of an impact on the Warriors but the loss hurts the Blazers. The Blazers are currently the 10 seed in the west and have a chance to be in the Play-In games. If Dame gets back healthy and Nurkic is available as well, the Blazers might have a chance to be in the Playoffs this year.
It would be better for the Blazers to fall in the standings to get a better position in the draft. That will be a trade asset that can be used to get pieces to surround Damian Lillard with, in the few years he might remain there. The Blazers have also made 60 million dollars in cap space to accommodate another superstar besides Lillard. It would be a storybook ending if Lillard could win in Portland.
