PORTLAND, Ore. — Whatever was ailing the Golden State Warriors heading into the All-Star break, they made it clear Thursday night that they left those demons behind in the first half.
Seven Warriors scored in double figures in a 132-95 rout over the Portland Trail Blazers, starting the stretch run of the season on a strong note and even padding their playoff position.
Here are a few quick takeaways.
—Tightening up defense?
The Warriors’ primary problem during their slide before the All-Star break were on the defensive end. Opponents got transition points in buckets, drove past defenders with ease and shot the lights out. When they did miss, the Warriors too often failed to box out.
Coming out of the All-Star break, Kerr said, the Warriors needed to get back to “basic principles.”
So, did the defense (without Draymond Green for the 22nd straight game) pass the test?
Let’s take a look at the numbers in a few key categories:
Rebounds: 60, a season-high and 20 more than Portland, tying their best rebounding advantage of the season.
Shooting percentage: 39.7%, the lowest by a Warriors opponent in 10 games. (From 3: 25.7%, the lowest in 11 games.)
Fastbreak points: 21, more than all but one of their past 15 opponents. (But, evidence of the sclerotic game, the Warriors scored 18 of their own.)
Even in the midst of blowing up their roster, the Blazers have maintained one of the NBA’s top offenses. Reeling off four straight wins before the All-Star break, Portland averaged 116.0 points per game.
Steve Kerr wanted to start Gary Payton II to help offset that and continue the progress made in a nail-biting loss to Denver before the break. He had to wait until less than an hour to tipoff to know whether he would have Payton available, though, after a previous shin injury acted up and put his status in question.
Payton got the start and made an immediate impact. After recording a career-best six steals in his last game, Payton started this one by picking the pocket of Portland star Anfernee Simons on the first possession of the game.
The rest of the Warriors took it from there.
The Blazers made eight of their first 10 shots from the field, but it took them another 29 attempts to hit their next eight.
After falling behind 29-19 about 8 minutes into the game, the Warriors went into hyperdrive, mounting a 38-9 run over the ensuing 10 minutes, and outscored Portland by 47 the rest of the way.
—Steph’s first-half double-double
After dropping 50 in the All-Star Game, some wondered if that was the performance that would ignite a hot hand in Steph Curry for the Warriors’ final stretch of games. That premonition proved true Thursday night, just not quite as expected.
Chef Curry was cooking with all of his ingredients, dishing out 14 assists — two shy of his career high — to overshadow his 18 points, which also tied for the team lead. He secured the double-double by halftime for only the fourth time of his career.
There were still almost 8 minutes left in the first half when Curry recorded his 10th assist, taking a turnover on one end and heaving it crosscourt to Jordan Poole for a pull-up 3-pointer in transition. That shot sparked a mini-burst in Poole, who finished with 15 points as one of seven Warriors in double figures.
But Curry’s favorite first-half target? Klay Thompson, who sank his first 3-pointer on Curry’s fourth assist of the night. Ten of Thompson’s 18 points came in the first quarter, and Curry assisted on four of his six total field goals.
Curry has gotten praise for the playmaking ability he has showcased during Draymond Green’s absence, but Thursday night might as well have been his magnum opus.
—Playoff picture
The Warriors got a gift from hundreds of miles away shortly after their game tipped off in Portland.
The third-place Memphis Grizzlies lost at Minnesota — after leading by as many as 15 points — allowing the Warriors to gain a little separation in the race for seeding in the Western Conference.
With the Memphis loss and Golden State’s win, the Warriors’ lead on the No. 2 seed is back to 2.5 games. However, Phoenix won — again, beating Oklahoma City by 20 for its eighth in a row (and 19th in its past 20) — so the Warriors weren’t able to gain any ground on the No. 1 seed. They remain 6.5 games back with now 22 left to play.
