Steph Curry officially doesn’t need any more preseason games. Tuesday night in Portland, the baby-Faced Assassin scored 28 points in seven minutes, sinking four three-pointers in the Golden State Warriors’ 118-111 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, moving them to 3-1 on the preseason.
Quinten Post scored 16 points off the bench, grabbed five rebounds, blocked a shot, and was a game-high +16. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 10 rebounds in 17 minutes, scoring 7 points and handing out a surprising three assists. 11 different Warriors scored and the team had 26 assists on 37 baskets, pretty good for the preseason!
With Jimmy Butler out, Curry was the unquestioned Batman and took over Robin’s job of repeatedly getting to the foul line. Nine of Curry’s 15 first-half points came off free throws, and you can probably guess he took exactly nine of them before halftime. He finished 12-for-13 from the foul line and you know that he’ll be thinking about the one miss after the game.
Will Richard showed why the Warriors gave him a regular NBA contract instead of a two-way deal by fitting in seamlessly with the starters. He shot 3-for-4, scored 8 points, and was a +10 in the first half. It wasn’t just that he made shots — Richard made smart cuts to the hoop and didn’t hesitate to fire away when he caught the ball behind the arc. Playing with Steph Curry and a group of veterans, a wing like Richard mainly needs to rebound, play defense, and take care of the ball, but the offense stalls out if he doesn’t shoot when he’s open.
Jonathan Kuminga got the start at power forward with Jimmy Butler dealing with a sore ankle and Draymond Green getting the night off. He did display some rebounding and passing, picking up six boards and four assists, including that nice dime to Richard.
But Steve Kerr couldn’t have been happy that Kuminga also got ejected in the final second of the first half for arguing a no-call. He clapped in the referee’s face and appeared to make contact, which made the first ejection of his NBA career automatic. It did seem like he clearly got fouled, perhaps by two different Blazers.
He did honor the legacy of the We Believe Warriors, who had multiple players ejected from the 2007 playoffs for clapping at officials. Kuminga may not have helped his bid for a long-term contract, but he may have clinched a booking on the “All The Smoke” podcast.
That ejection meant the Warriors started the third with a “Twin Towers” lineup of Trayce Jackson-Davis playing with Al Horford, a combination Kerr had hinted at using as a result of Horford’s versatility. The duo was effective on defense, holding the Blazers to 12 points in seven minutes, combining for five points and five rebounds. It could indicate a direction for Kerr to go in the future, perhaps if he returns to last year’s starting lineup with Draymond Green at center and using Horford off the bench to limit his wear and tear.
The Warriors took the lead after a third quarter that started very slow — seven points in the first five minutes — and ended with a team-wide three-point barrage. Seven different Warriors made three-pointers, while Curry sank two, and the quarter ended with Gary Payton II banking in a 31-footer at the buzzer for a 91-87 lead.
The shooting got frenetic after the Warriors seized control of the game with a 13-0 run, kicked off by Al Horford putting up five straight points.
The run stopped in a furious sequence where the Blazers and Warriors traded threes, with Caleb Love, Quinten Post, rookie Yang Hansen, and Curry all nailing shots from deep during a stretch of 27 seconds, the last coming on a ridiculous between-the-legs pass from Post to Curry.
The game remained tight in the fourth, but in the last five minutes, Pat Spencer took over and the Dubs backups closed things out from the foul line.
For the Trail Blazers, all five starters scored in double figures, with Shaedon Sharpe leading the way with 18 points in 27 minutes. Jerami Grant scored 14 and logged an impressive +21 in his 24 minutes. Portland lost mainly because they shot 9-for-43 from three-point range, with those starters going 5-for-22.
Intriguing 7-foot-1 rookie Hansen was once again fun to watch on offense and still challenged on defense, scoring 9 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. Their other seven-footer, Donovan Clingan, had 15 points and 11 rebounds, while making a three and blocking a shot. Preseason games don’t always mean anything, but Portland looks like they could make the playoffs this season, especially when Toumani Camara is healthy again.
As for the Warriors, they close out the preseason at home against the tree-loving L.A. Clippers on Friday, likely without Butler or Moses Moody. They still have some decisions to make about starting lineups and rotations, but things are looking encouraging with a week left before the season.