The Portland Trail Blazers squandered an exhibition win over the Golden State Warriors last week with a forgettable fourth quarter.
They didn’t wait so long this time around.
Golden State defeated the Blazers 118-111 Tuesday night at the Moda Center, riding a prolific performance from Stephen Curry and a strong second half to its second preseason win over Portland in a week.
The Blazers (1-2) built an 18-point lead in the first half, leaning on the depth and balance of its starting rotation, much like it did last week in San Francisco. But the Warriors (3-1) turned the tide in the third quarter, reeling off a 13-0 run, then proved to be too much down the stretch.
With Curry swishing jumpers and finishing layups and Al Horford hitting threes, the Warriors turned a 10-point deficit into a 76-73 lead with 4:28 left in the third quarter, blanking the Blazers for nearly four minutes. Golden State added to the momentum at the end of the quarter, when Jackson Rowe and Gary Patyon III swished back-to-back threes over the final 30 seconds. When Trayce Jackson-Davis opened the fourth with a three, the Warriors led 94-87 and the writing was on the wall.
The teams jockeyed in the fourth, but the Warriors’ backups beat up the Blazers’ backups for the second time this preseason.
TOP PERFORMERS
Curry looked like he was in midseason form, torching the Blazers for 28 points in 27 minutes, carrying the Warriors’ offensive load on a night they played without Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler. Curry wasn’t as lethal from long-range as usual — he made just 4 of 11 three-pointers — but he made 12 of 13 free throws and completed multiple smooth drives to the basket, scoring all over the place on the Blazers.
Portland flexed its depth yet again, producing six double-digits scorers. But Donovan Clingan had his best performance of the exhibition season, recording 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Shaedon Sharpe had another solid preseason outing, finishing with 18 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
CAMARA SITS
Toumani Camara, who has been sidelined since last week with right knee soreness, did not play Tuesday and coach Chauncey Billup said his starting forward was considered “day-to-day.”
After playing 14 first-half minutes Friday in the Blazers’ exhibition win over the Sacramento Kings, Camara did not play in the second half and hasn’t practiced since. But the injury does not appear series — Billups said if the Blazers had been playing a regular season game Tuesday, Camara likely would have played.
“The knee’s been a little sore, but of course he’s getting all the treatment that he can get,” Billups said. “I know Toumani; if this was on (Oct.) 22nd, there would be no way for me to keep him down, to not play.”
The Blazers play their regular-season opener Oct. 22.
So while Camara lounged on the Blazers’ bench in street clothes, Billups used his third different starting lineup in three exhibition games, just as he pledged to do before last week’s opener. This time, Billups started Jrue Holiday, Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant, Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan.
SLOPPY START
In an about-face from their exhibition opener last week, the Blazers labored through a sluggish start Tuesday night.
Twenty-two seconds after the opening tip, Grant committed a head-scratching foul on Stephen Curry as the Warriors’ All-Star hoisted a three-pointer, gifting Golden State three quick points. Holiday followed by throwing an ill-advised cross-court pass into the front row. And then Sharpe fell asleep on defense and allowed Will Richard to finish an easy back-door layup.
The sloppy beginning was a taste of things to come for much of the first quarter. Six nights after the teams combined to score 64 points in the opening period, they managed a combined 34 over the first 8:30. Along the way, as the Blazers built an 18-16 edge, they combined to committed nine turnovers and shoot just 32.5% from the field, including 20% from three-point range.
But it was only a temporary cold streak. The Blazers outscored the Warriors 12-6 the rest of the first and the teams combined for 65 points in the second, as Portland snatched a 61-56 halftime lead.
In two exhibition games against Golden State, the Blazers have scored a combined 133 points in the first half.
Next up
The Blazers play the Utah Jazz on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. It will be the Blazers’ final game of the exhibition season.
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