The Golden State Warriors got a little piece of revenge on the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night in a 119-97 blowout victory. No team has been more frustrating for Golden State so far this season, defeating the Warriors three times already. With offensive engine Deni Avdija sidelined, however, the Blazers offense never found a rhythm while the Dubs were scorching hot offensively.
The Warriors jumped out to a 12-6 lead and never looked back. While Steph Curry scored just 4 points on 1-for-7 shooting in the first half, he racked up 7 assists thanks to an uncharacteristically excellent shooting night from his teammates. Curry finished the game with 7 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds, and was able to sit for the entire fourth quarter.
De’Anthony Melton led the Warriors in scoring with 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field (4-for-6 from three) despite playing just 18 minutes. Brandin Podziemski (15 points on 6-for-10 shooting) and Moses Moody (14 points on 4-for-8 shooting) both looked like they did in the second half of last season, showing a glimpse of how good this team can look when those two former first-round picks are potent offensively.
Golden State led 38-24 at the end of the first quarter, extended the lead to 67-41 at the half. While Portland started the second half 5-for-7 from three, pulling within 12 points, the Dubs avoided another embarrassing collapse. Instead, they quickly answered with a run of their own that put the game away for good. The Warriors finished the game shooting 61.3% from two-point range, 39.7% from three-point range, and 92.3% from the free-throw line as a team.
Steph was not the only veteran who got to enjoy a lighter workload in the win. Jimmy Butler was excellent, recording 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists on 5-for-7 shooting in 26 minutes. Draymond Green even made a couple threes in route to 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 22 minutes (although he did commit 6 turnovers).
The Warriors have now played half of the team’s regular-season schedule. At 22-19, the Dubs head into the second half of the season firmly in the 8th seed of the Western Conference. They are 2.5 games back of the Phoenix Suns for the 7th seed, 3 games back of the Houston Rockets and avoiding the play-in for the 6th seed, and 3.5 games back of the Los Angeles Lakers for the 5th seed.
A path is there for the Warriors to once again surge in the second half. The trade deadline will be at the center of Warriors discussion, as it should be given the team’s inconsistencies while Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield’s tradeable contracts remain outside the rotation, but Golden State can climb the standings with the players already on the roster if they play like they did on Tuesday.
