Warriors

The Warriors blew an 18-point lead, only to rally and beat the Blazers on Friday night for their fourth straight win.

The Golden State Warriors have been a very confusing team to watch this season. On some nights, they look like championship contenders.

On the road, the Warriors are 3-16; they're the worst team in the NBA on the road and have the worst record. At home, the Warriors are 15-2; they're the best team in the NBA at home and have the best record. These numbers aren't just a Steph Curry was playing in some games and he wasn't in others either.

Gary Payton II is the rarest of the rare, a great and popular teammate who at 6-foot-3 can defend four positions so well that it can change the tone of the ...

It feels like his time with the team was ages ago, but Gary Payton II finally received his championship ring with the Golden State Warriors.

"I'm honored to be able to present this to someone who's gone on the journey that you've gone on. The Warriors are currently facing off against the Blazers at home, and the team had a small little ceremony for Payton to receive his ring. "A very special moment for this man right here," Draymond Green said during the presentation.

Jordan Poole scored 41 points and made a key 3-pointer with 2:57 to play, Klay Thompson hit from deep with 1:36 left and scored 31, leading the Golden State ...

Warriors: C James Wiseman rolled his left ankle taking part in a 3-on-3 scrimmage after the morning shootaround and Kerr said “it doesn’t seem too serious.” All-Star Andrew Wiggins also took part in that scrimmage as he works back from an illness that followed his stint sidelined by tightness in his right upper leg — 13 in a row missed overall. ... Billups said Payton is “close, very close,” to making his season debut. “He just wasn’t on the team and kind of watching from the sideline, he helped earn that ring, and he played his part. So it’s actually awesome for him, all the attention will be on him tonight.” Trail Blazers: Big man Jusuf Nurkic sat out with an illness, the second game he has missed in the past five. Poole has been the Warriors’ top scorer in nine of the 10 total games missed by Curry so far. Poole notched his second 40-point game in the past 15 contests. The hope is he will play Monday after one more practice day. “Our fans can feel it, our fans have been great. That is absolutely amazing,” Green said. On Friday night, Green and his supporting cast got it done in crunch time. “That is incredible.

A tough game turns into a tight one, but Portland falls.

Anfernee Simons gave the Blazers their lone strikes in the first three minutes of the fourth—a three and a runner—to try and stem Golden State’s frenzy. If the Blazers thought the end of the game was going to be easy because they had a startling lead, they had a lesson to learn just as the Warriors had. Poole turned the ball over, giving the Blazers a break, but Lillard continued a rough period, getting it stripped in return. At the 6:10 mark the Blazers led 105-100 and had every chance to bring it home. The Warriors weren’t hitting every shot like they had in the opening minutes, but with Portland’s scoring ground to a halt, every three Golden State hit felt like it weighed a million. It was an ode to hard work (thanks, Jabari!) and perseverance, a fantastic way to save not just the game, but perhaps this part of the season. They hit them—four threes in the quarter, in fact—but they took the ball inside. When the threes refused to fall, the Warriors had no response other than the immortal words of Fred Willard in A Mighty Wind: “Wha happen???” Simons was a key to the Blazers’ production in the second, hitting three field goals early, then a three later on. Golden State led 19-6 at the 7:00 mark of the period. Damian Lillard hit a fadeaway jumper coming out of the timeout, but Thompson got it right back, heading into double-figure scoring in the first 2:30 of the contest. The Warriors leapt out to an 18-point lead, sawing off the Blazers like a team full of chainsaw-wielding horror villains.

Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Andre Iguodala and JaMychal Green have all been ruled out, while Draymond Green and Donte DiVincenzo are questionable. Meanwhile, ...

The Trail Blazers come into the matchup with an 18-16 record in 34 games, which has them as the eighth seed in the west. The Warriors come into the night as the tenth seed in the Western Conference with an 18-18 record in 36 games. Warriors Updated Injury Report Against The Trail Blazers

Jusuf Nurkic is listed as questionable. As for the Warriors, they will be without Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Andre Iguodala and JaMychal Green.

As for the Warriors, they are the tenth seed in the west with an 18-18 record in 36 games. They are 5-5 in their last ten games and 10-10 in 20 games on the road played outside of Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers enter the night as the eighth seed in the Western Conference with an 18-16 record in 34 games.

The Warriors have their first four-game winning streak of the season, and it's definitely something they can build off of.

Portland had a 94.5 percent chance of winning with 4:49 left, but ran out of gas in a 118-112 loss to the similarly-shorthanded Warriors.

But they didn’t take their first free throws until the 7:18 mark of the second quarter. He often guards the opposition’s best perimeter player, even if they are a guard. This was their third game in four nights, all of which coming with their best player on the sidelines. In the grand scheme, and without a win, it won’t mean much, but it’s noteworthy for the franchise’s star. In a fashion that only they can, Golden State propped up a 33-15 first quarter lead. The end result wasn’t a net positive in tonight’s game, and Lillard did struggle to free himself against hounding defense in the Blazers’ fourth quarter collapse. Superstars can often sense the need to take over, and in that regard, Lillard was limousine-riding, jet-flying, switch-flipping, and most importantly, lead-chipping. The other? In a game filled with turbulent ups-and-downs, Portland shook off a devastatingly-slow start and provided themselves with a legitimate shot at winning, before running out of gas down the stretch in a 118-112 loss. When Drew Eubanks blocked Jonathan Kuminga’s layup with 4:49 left in the fourth, the Blazers sported an eight-point advantage and, according to ESPN, a 94.5 percent chance to win. The team who finishes with the final one is often the one who proves victorious. all in the same game, and still lost.

Donte DiVincenzo, playing a more prominent role given Steph Curry's absence, had a key steal and a 3-pointer late for the Warriors.

[Hawks](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/hawks/), [Pistons](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/pistons/), [Magic](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/magic/) and [Suns](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/suns/). Typically, on a night like this, Kuminga would stay on the bench for the full fourth. He was fresh after a two-day break and had life in his legs during a 15-point first quarter, making three 3s and a few midrangers to push the Warriors in front. Kuminga fouled out in 21 minutes in the previous game and picked up five fouls in his first 19 minutes against the Blazers. But the Warriors are desperate for any type of creation and shotmaking with Curry and Wiggins out, and Poole is delivering. [Klay Thompson](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/klay-thompson-JyZHl24VVa8twrMw/) and [Jonathan Kuminga](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jonathan-kuminga-6xXExjD2A4eIrB46/) had cracks at [Damian Lillard](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/damian-lillard-kE0E92pvJGKazRQb/). The Warriors lead the NBA in fouls. This was easily the biggest sequence of DiVincenzo’s first season with the Warriors. DiVincenzo popped wide open to the top of the key. “Donte has allowed me to rest on that side of the ball at times,” Thompson said. DiVincenzo took a whack at it and hit all ball, dislodging it for the steal of the night. But when it mattered most, [Warriors](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/warriors/) coach Steve Kerr gave [Donte DiVincenzo](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/donte-divincenzo-5yeG2wUB9RTaEEGd/) the assignment.

They earned it the hardest way possible, sprinting to an 18-point lead over the Trail Blazers in the first quarter, falling behind by 11 late in the third ...

But considering the circumstances, winning four straight games while two All-Stars watch from bench is a lot of goodness of which the Warriors can build. They have a good chance to take the next four, against the Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons, the Orlando Magic and the Phoenix Suns. And the record indicates they took full advantage. Nobody among the Warriors symbolized their highs and lows than the thrill ride that is Jordan Poole. But this, the Warriors can call progress. Golden State’s fourth-quarter defense was nearly as remarkable in allowing Portland only 16 points as it was two nights earlier in limiting Utah to 13 points.

Steve Kerr dusted off an ATO that caught Portland by surprise — and sparked a memorable comeback.

The rest of the team is learning how to win and play together without relying on the Curry crutch — which bodes well for their chemistry, morale, and camaraderie once the franchise superstar eventually returns to action. On this sideline out-of-bounds (SLOB) set, the Warriors apply tenacious ball denial to prevent Lillard from getting the ball. Having shooters such as Thompson and Curry set screens for others isn’t an entirely novel concept, but the Warriors are perhaps the best at taking advantage of defenses being reticent to switch off of dangerous long-range gunners. One example was on an after-timeout (ATO) set drawn by Steve Kerr for Kuminga — a classic play that Kerr stole from Fred Hoiberg, not only the former coach of the DiVincenzo pokes the ball away from Lillard and gets the steal, which sets up the coup de grâce. The Warriors are still perfect during this current homestand. The answer to guard-guard ghosted screens such as this is a switch, since the size similarities between defenders make it feasible. To compound matters further, they were starved for personnel who could self-create shots at the rim, or at least take full advantage of rim opportunities with capable finishing. The nature of their offense organically bypasses traditional rim pressure and replaces it with alternative means of attacking the paint: through opportunistic cuts, backscreens, and slips/rolls after setting a screen for an attention-grabbing shooter. He has done a much better job as a connector and play finisher, often on transition possessions following a defensive stop. That left Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga as the only sources of legitimate rim pressure on the team. The only problem?

Gary Payton II is the rarest of the rare, a great and popular teammate who at 6-foot-3 can defend four positions so well that it can change the tone of the ...

“I have no doubt these young guys will do what they have to do to create a career that they and their families will be proud of ... and Ryan Rollins -- are still in the process of development. With Payton missing the first two-plus months, Lacob’s decision is, in the short term, a wise option. And I'm not saying he's not worth it or is worth it. “No surprise to us that if these guys got ... His presence will be

The Warriors overcame a double-figure deficit in the second half for the second consecutive game to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112 Friday night.

And it’s starting to show in the win column.” Just finding ways to find it inside you to win games, lock in and play together and execute down the stretch offensively and defensively.” Golden State looked dominant out of the gates, expanding its lead to as many as 18 in the first quarter. “We had some lulls in the game but the guys kept competing and kept fighting. But Poole pointed to a “pretty energetic timeout” in the second half that prompted a gritty and hard-fought ending to push the Warriors back on top by the time the final horn rang. Then, Thompson drained a 3 to extend the Warriors’ advantage to four.

The Warriors overcame a double-figure deficit in the second half for the second consecutive game to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112 Friday night.

“Luckily, we were at home and we were able to feed off the energy of the crowd. Golden State looked dominant out of the gates, expanding its lead to as many as 18 in the first quarter. “It’s just a sense of urgency,” Poole said of the team’s fourth-quarter defensive effort. “We had some lulls in the game but the guys kept competing and kept fighting. But Poole pointed to a “pretty energetic timeout” in the second half that prompted a gritty and hard-fought ending to push the Warriors back on top by the time of the final horn rang. Then, Thompson drained a 3 to extend the Warriors’ advantage to four.

Contrary to what many predicted, the Golden State Warriors have found their groove without Steph Curry. In his first few games out of the lineup with a ...

If they can do this, a lot of credit must be given to the group of players that has held it down in the absence of Curry, Wiggins, and others. Over the last week, Golden State has begun to find their groove, and is currently riding a season-high four-game winning streak. Contrary to what many predicted, the Golden State Warriors have found their groove without Steph Curry.