The Golden State Warriors needed to show some grit in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trailblazers, coming into Oracle Arena Wednesday night with a late game meltdown fresh in their minds. But behind some solid team defense and a season-high 32 points for Stephen Curry, the W's got it done down the stretch to take the 101-93 victory.
The Warriors (6-11) entered the second half down five but came out of the locker room firing as Stephen Curry scored 16 third-quarter points to fuel a 19-8 W's run to close the third. They continued to hang tough into the fourth, holding a five point lead with six minutes to play.
Steph and David Lee kept the offense flowing, while the defense did their part down the stretch to keep the Blazers at bay, with Monta and Steph creating two clutch turnovers in the last minute to hold on for the win.
Aside from his 32 points, Steph finished with seven assists and six rebounds, while David Lee was stupendous against the towering Portland bigs, dropping 26 on 12-21 shooting. Monta played the role of facilitator tonight, taking only 9 shots from the floor for 4 points but dished out 12 dimes along the way.
Ekpe Udoh held his own very well against the Portland bigs tonight with four points and a team high seven rebounds off the bench, as well as finishing a very impressive +18. Brandon Rush had a great first half, finishing with 14 including 3-3 from downtown.
The W's finished the game shooting 51% from the floor and 55% from downtown, including 33 assists on 41 made shots. They also committed only 11 turnovers, and only three in the fourth quarter.
Portland leads the league in fourth quarter points, though the W's held them to only 20 on 41% shooting for the night, led by LaMarcus Aldridge's 18 and seven boards, while Jamal Crawford and Nicolas Batum finished with 16 apiece.
Even with the Blazers on the third night of a back-to-back-to-back, there are no easy wins in the NBA. The Blazers were fighting to the very end, and it was a much needed victory for Golden State. Hopefully it's the start of something good.
For more on the Warriors, head over to Golden State of Mind.