Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak as they beat the Portland Trail Blazers 115-105 at the Moda Center Saturday night. The Warriors, coming off two ugly losses to the Lakers and Blazers, excelled on both ends of the court Saturday night. Klay Thompson, who had mired in a shooting slump, came alive and led the team to the victory with 32 points including four 3-point shots in four tries. The Warriors won the first three quarters, and each team scored 22 points in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors won the first quarter 30-27. Kevon Looney helped out with seven points early in the quarter. Looney hit his first 3-pointer of the season to help the Warriors get rolling. He, along with Draymond Green, was tasked with defending Jusuf Nurkic. The Blazers’ big center torched the Warriors for 27 points Thursday night at Oracle Arena. Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr did not want Nurkic to be a force inside. Looney and Green responded and played well. Nurkic finished with 21, but the Warriors were able to defend him better in this game. The Warriors started the second quarter on a 10-0 run. Curry scored the first seven points, and Jonas Jerebko knocked down a 3 to give the Warriors the lead 40-27. They led by 18, 56-38, but Portland finished the first half on a 12-2 run. The score at the half was 58-50 in favor of Golden State. Andre Iguodala was charged with a technical foul and had to leave the game when he threw the basketball into the stands with force as the buzzer sounded to end the second quarter. The refs had no choice as it is an automatic ejection.

The Warriors were able to increase the lead to 10 at the end of the third quarter. The Warriors behind Curry, Thompson and Durant increased the lead to 14. The Blazers refused to wilt and were able to cut the deficit to five 83-78. Quinn Cook was in for Curry, and he made two big 3-point shots to propel the Warriors to a 10-0 run. Nurkic was a force for Portland in the third quarter as he kept using his big body to barrel into the rim. The Warriors led 93-83 at the end of three.

Neither team scored in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. Both teams played excellent defense, and the Warriors started to play sloppy and make mistakes as they did Thursday night in Oakland, Thompson’s shooting helped propel the Warriors to a 105-89 advantage. Portland went on a 9-0 run to make it 105-98. It was gut-check time for the Warriors. The Warriors scored the next four points, but Portland made a bucket to trail 109-100 with 2:07 to play. Curry was fouled attempting a 3-point shot. The best free throw shooter in the NBA missed two shots. However, on the ensuing play. The Blazers were charged with two technical fouls. Curry increased the lead to 112-100 with 1:49 left. Kerr pulled his regulars, and the Warriors coasted to the win 115-105.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, Golden State is now 24-13 for the season. Portland falls to 20-16.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 32 points, and he made four treys. Steph Curry had 22, and he connected twice on three-point shots. Kevin Durant had 25. Kevon Looney had 12, Jonas Jerebko 8, and Quinn Cook had six. Draymond Green scored three points, but he was a force on the floor. He had 9 boards and 6 assists. However, when Green was on the court, the Warriors were a plus-28. Jerebko was a plus-18 as he had another stellar performance. The Warriors shot 50% from the floor and made 12 3s in 25 attempts. The Warriors defense held the Blazers to 42.9% from the floor and the Blazers were 9-for 31 from 3-point range.

The Blazers were led by Damian Lillard’s 40 points. Nurkic had 21, and CJ McCollum finished with 14.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Phoenix Suns Monday night in Phoenix. Game time is at 5 pm.