Warriors rally in fourth quarter for 110-99 over Trailblazers

OAKLAND - The Warriors won five of their first six games this postseason, and in all of those victories they sprinted from the gate for early advantages. That included a 28-11 first-quarter lead over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday.

In the rematch at Oracle Arena on Tuesday night, the Warriors found a different formula. They stumbled and snoozed through three quarters of play, falling behind by as many as 17 points and entering the fourth quarter with an 11-point deficit.

And then they roared past the beleaguered Trail Blazers, flying to a 110-99 win that gave them a 2-0 lead in the series.

“Game 2s always scare me,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “Especially if you won the first one relatively easily, like we did. Just happens. It’s human nature. The other team comes out angry, maybe you let your guard down a little bit even though you’re aware of the circumstances. Portland was phenomenal in the first half.”

Indeed, the Trail Blazers shot the ball brilliantly, got to most of the loose balls early and crowded the Warriors on defense.

But the fourth quarter belonged to the home team. Finally, the Warriors started hitting open shots. Finally, they got to the free-throw line with regularity. And finally, the young Trail Blazers showed their inexperience and began to make unforced errors.

After free throws by Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala made it a three-point game, shooting guard Klay Thompson lost Maurice Harkless on the dribble and stepped back for a 3-pointer from the right corner to tie the game 91-91. A minute or so later, Thompson came off of a screen and splashed another trey to give the Warriors a 94-93 edge. It was their first lead of the night.

The Trail Blazers briefly regained the upper hand, but were soon bowled over by a Warriors wave. At 104-97, Shaun Livingston missed a layup after splitting the defense, but Iguodala followed with a dunk. Then Livingston blocked Gerald Henderson on the defensive end, got fouled and sank two free throws to make it 108-97. And after a Portland basket, Green broke through for an emphatic dunk to finish off the scoring.

It was a fitting way to end the game, because it was Green - with help from the relentless Oracle crowd - who kept the Warriors into the game emotionally when things could have slipped away.

Credit Thompson, too, for keeping his poise. He came into the game red hot, on the heels of consecutive outings with seven 3-pointers, something no NBA player had done in the postseason. His playoff scoring average before Tuesday was 25.7.

But the Trail Blazers flipped the script by giving their undersized guards other assignments and guarding Thompson with bigger men. Mostly that was the 6-9 Harkless, who did an admirable job. For spurts it was Henderson or Cal product Allen Crabbe who stuck to Thompson.

The formula worked for a half. Thompson had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting before halftime. Then he gradually took over the game. Thompson finished with a game-high 27 points.

Green wound up with 17 points and 14 rebounds, Livingston added 14 points and Harrison Barnes had 13.

The unsung hero, though, was Festus Ezeli. Golden State’s backup center had fallen out of the rotation after playing poorly at Houston in the first round. Tuesday, he had eight points and six rebounds in less than 13 minutes in the second half.

For whatever reason, the Warriors looked tired on Tuesday. Or maybe it was bored. The first pass of the game hit center Andrew Bogut in the noggin. The third bounced off his hands and became a turnover. His teammates soon joined the comedy.

Just 3:04 into the game, Kerr was forced to call time out when a basket by C.J. McCollum gave the visitors a 10-3 lead. And then it got worse. Moments later, McCollum pulled up on a fast break to let Livingston run past, then calmly planted a long 2-point shot to push Portland’s lead to 19-5.

McCollum and Al-Farouq Aminu, the Blazers’ lanky 6-foot-9 forward, killed the Warriors in the early going. By halftime, McCollum had 14 points and Aminu had 13, a total that included three 3-pointers in 4 attempts.

The Warriors couldn’t match that accuracy. Green was 3 of 11 in the first half, and Livingston was 1 of 7. Portland’s halftime lead was 59-51.

Golden State made a brief counter in the third quarter, but Oakland native Damian Lillard got hot for the Blazers and scored 17 points in the quarter to tamp down the threat. In the fourth quarter, however, Lillard was held scoreless. He finished with 25 points, while McCollum scored 22.

“Festus had a big role in that, because of his activity,” Kerr said of Lillard’s fall-off. “And I thought Klay did an excellent job chasing him. Damian is so tough to handle on those high screens. He’s so quick, strong, he gets to the rim. … I think Festus’ presence at least made things a little tougher for him.”

And now the world returns to wondering when Curry, who is out with a sprained knee, can get back in action. The point guard went through a workout at the Warriors’ practice facility Tuesday morning, and Kerr said his superstar was “going through the rehab process and making the improvement that we’re looking for.” But the coach added that Curry wouldn’t play until he’d gotten on the court in a team setting. The decision, Kerr said, is in the hands of the Warriors training staff.

Game 3 is Saturday in Portland, tip-off at 5:30 p.m.