The Portland Trail Blazers played one good half against the Golden State Warriors on Monday evening. Against many of their recent opponents, a couple quarters of energetic play was enough to bring them charging from behind to victory. The Warriors are both deep and serious, though. They weren’t succumbing to Portland’s wiles. The near-tragic Blazers performance in the first half gave Golden State more than enough of a lead to hold onto as they fended off their opponents 130-119.
The loss drops Portland 10 games below .500 with only 16 remaining in their season.
Here are some of the factors that determined the outcome.
Efense
The Blazers came out playing defense like they had come from another planet and were just introduced to the concept. They resisted the Warriors with the same energy—and success rate—of your average Hot Space Alien fending off Captain Kirk.
How did Portland give up threes? Let me count the ways. Golden State screens rubbed them off, leaving any and all dribblers with an open look. If that failed, they got penetration and a kick-out. Portland close-outs were nonexistent; we’re talking full-on slouchy laze. And, for the piece de resistance, the Blazers failed to guard the arc and STILL GAVE UP OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS on the same possession. If you’re not working on the perimeter and you’re not working inside, where exactly are you working?
If anybody figures out the answer to that question, let me know. But in this case, NBA stood for “Not Bothering Anymore”.
The Detroit Pistons scored 97 on Portland in three quarters last night. The Warriors pasted 102 on them in that same span tonight. We’ve gone most of the season without the dreaded hundred-point third quarter issue rearing its head, but tonight’s defense was pure 2023-24, not 2024-25.
We could cite plenty of stats, but let’s go with this one. Golden State hit 9 of their first 12 threes and finished 21-41, 51.2% for the game. From. The. Arc.
I mean, Portland can keep trying to win games with offense, but ceding 130 puts an awful lot of pressure on your scorers.
Simons Again
Speaking of offense, though, Anfernee Simons did it again. The Blazers were dead in the water at halftime until Ant came out with 13 points in the first 6:00 of the third period to defibrillate their heartbeat back into rhythm. Simons’ run took enough defensive attention away from his teammates to allow them open threes, which then started falling. Portland’s near-mandatory big comeback of the game came during this stretch. Thanks again, Ant.
Simons would finish the game with 32 points on 12-21 shooting, 6-10 from distance.
Curry Denial
One place Portland’s defense was effective—at least for most of the game—was denying Steph Curry the ball. They not only sent the defensive wings against him, they threw Donovan Clingan in the fray, having him help chase Curry off of the arc. As a result the first-ballot Hall-of-Famer managed only 14 shot attempts and 24 points, many of those coming late, when the game was getting beyond contention.
This explains, in part, why the defense was so poor otherwise. They were picking their poison and the shadow side of Golden State’s offense burned them. Gary Payton II had 26 points (a new career high) on 11-16 shooting and Buddy Hield 20 on 7-10 shooting, 6-9 on threes. As if that wasn’t enough, Jimmy Butler also had a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Plus Clingan
Clingan certainly helped the defense, such as it was. He registered four blocks, playing outside and in with the same denial mindset. He helped on offense too with 15 points and 6 big assists. 9 rebounds and only 3 personal fouls completed one of his best games of the season so far.
Turnovers
Other than the hot shooting streaks, the game can probably be explained by one simple factor. Whichever team was turning over the ball was also the team losing. In the first half that was Portland, as a series of embarrassing gaffes crippled their offense. During the third-period streak, the Blazers forced turnovers from the Warriors instead of committing them themselves. Things calmed down for both teams in the fourth, but that meant Golden State’s lead sustained instead of the Blazers eating into it by forcing miscues.
Overall, Portland committed 19 turnovers, Golden State 18. Wild.
Return of the Mack
Cue up Mark Morrison, because Deni Avdija strutted into the arena tonight in full uniform, ready to play. He may not have been able to resurrect Portland’s defense entirely—that Curry-watching was a bit distracting—but having the extra ballhandler and shooter on offense sure helped.
Avdija played off of Simons’ momentum in the third period, using the extra daylight to generate a 16-point period. He ended up with a season-high 34 points on 11-15 shooting. That’s not just money, that’s printing money. Avdija added 16 rebounds and 6 assists, marred only by his 6 turnovers.
Watch it. You’ll get the vibe.
Up Next
Boxscore
The Blazers return home to face the New York Knicks on Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM, Pacific.