Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, right, shoots a 3-pointer over Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant during the first half in Portland on Wed Feb 8, 2023 (AP News photo)

Portland Finishes Strong Beating Warriors 125-122

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday night the Golden State Warriors (28-27) traveled up to Portland to take on Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers (27-28) in a tough matchup. Lillard led with 33 points paving the way for a Blazers 125-122 win in Portland on Wednesday night.

The Trail Blazers had a strong start winning the opening quarter 34-27. Portland was not connecting from downtown and the Warriors started hitting them in the second quarter. Golden State finished off the second winning it 40-29 and had shot 12 from beyond the arc. They led at the half 67-63.

Klay Thompson finished the first half with 20 points followed by Jordan Poole with 15. Donte Divincenzo had 12 points off the bench and was three of five from downtown, The Warriors got down early but fought back . Both teams shot at 51% The Warriors were doing a great job protecting the ball with five turnovers in the first half.

Coming down the stretch in the third quarter this was a tight game. Portland won the quarter 32-28 and after three quarters the score was tied at 95. Lillard had 29 and Thompson had 28 through the first three quarters. The Warriors were fighting hard to win this road game on Thompson’s birthday.

The Warriors would try to make a push in the fourth quarter with Lillard on the bench to start the final 12 minutes. The Trail Blazers began inching ahead and led 103-97 in the early minutes of the fourth quarter. Lillard came back in the game and the fireworks began.

The Warriors took a brief lead 114-110 and at 4:56 this game was tied again at 114. Both Thompson and Draymond Green were on the bench just waiting for the final push. The Warriors made some poor decisions in the final two minutes and along with turnovers and missed shots Portland took a 123-114 lead.

Poole finished with the high score of 38 points with Thompson shooting for 31. The Warriors did a great job shooting the ball but gave up too many second chance points. Golden State took care of the ball with 11 turnovers but as the Warriors have seen before too many fouls. Despite having the worst bench in the league Portland outscored the Warriors bench 40-26.

The Warriors will be back at Chase Center to take on the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM.