Warriors rally to beat Trail Blazers 125-121, move on to Western Conference finals

OAKLAND - It might have been the most competitive five-game series in NBA playoff history. The Warriors closed out the Portland Trail Blazers at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night, but nothing about the game, or the overall matchup, was lopsided.

The Trail Blazers again matched Golden State shot for shot, block for block, 3-pointer for 3-pointer. Again, the Warriors were just a little better when it really mattered. Stephen Curry scored the Warriors' final seven points, the last four on free throws, and the defending champions escaped with a 125-121 win.

Now, Cowboy Country awaits. And the Warriors don't particularly care whether that means San Antonio or Oklahoma City. That chip will fall into place Thursday, or beyond. More important, at least around here, is that Golden State is returning to the Western Conference finals for the second consecutive year.

The Warriors' first-round opponent, the Houston Rockets, are a talented collection of players with no chemistry. The Trail Blazers are the opposite. They play with passion, with confidence and abandon. And they know how to beat the Warriors.

The Blazers are the only team to beat Golden State twice this season, and they nearly did it again Wednesday.

The Warriors' home record over the past two postseasons improved to 15-2. They have yet to lose this year in six home playoff games.

For the second series in a row, the Warriors were able to wrap things up fairly efficiently, earning some extra rest. They'll need it. Not only is Curry nursing a knee injury, but center Andrew Bogut sat out the second half with a strained muscle in his thigh, and power forward Draymond Green hurt his left ankle.

It happened while Green got fouled on a drive to the basket late in the third quarter. After limping around a bit, he went to the locker room for treatment after that quarter. His mother, Mary Babers-Green, tweeted that Green first tweaked the ankle in Game 4. He returned about midway through the fourth quarter.

It was quite a rollercoaster of a night for Green. He got into a stare-down with Portland's Ed Davis in the second quarter and, moments later, picked up a technical for arguing with referee Marc Davis. In the fourth quarter, Green got mad at a foul call, threw his arms in frustration and hurt the hand of official Ken Mauer. The forward wasn't penalized for that one.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 33 points on 13-of-17 shooting, and Curry scored 29 while dishing out 11 assists. Oakland native Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 28 points, and backcourt mate C.J. McCollum had 27.

Curry was hard-pressed to match his performance in Game 4, a show that immediately became part of sports legend. In that one, he shook off a rusty first half after returning from the knee injury and exploded for 17 points in overtime (an NBA record for regular season or postseason), and 40 points overall, to spark Golden State's comeback win.

That's was Curry's first full game (or close to it) of the postseason. He missed two contests with an ankle injury and then sat out four with a sprained MCL, and didn't play past halftime in the games in which he got hurt.

Curry returned to Oakland in time to attend a press conference Tuesday marking his second consecutive MVP award.

As they did in Games 2 and 4, the Blazers grabbed a big lead right out of the gate. This time they were up 20-10, until Golden State answered with a lightning-fast 10-0 run. One play in particular characterized the Warriors' spirited teamwork. Curry chased an errant throw into the left corner and saved the ball to Bogut, who then gave it back to Curry and set a screen; Curry followed by swishing a 3-pointer.

That shot meant Curry had connected from long distance in 44 consecutive postseason games, tying Reggie Miller's all-time NBA record.

The Blazers didn't go away after that, though. Lillard and his teammates continued to make shots, and Portland maintained its lead. At halftime the visitors were up 63-58, led by Lillard's 21 points.

The Warriors made a 13-3 run to finally take the lead in the third quarter. Still, the Blazers wouldn't go away. They led just before the end of the third quarter, until Curry closed the period with a pretty step-back 3-pointer over Al-Farouq Aminu. That gave the Warriors a 93-91 edge going into the fourth quarter.

Down the stretch, Curry dribbled behind his back and flicked a quick 3-pointer over Aminu to give Golden State a 121-116 lead. Cal product Allen Crabbe scored on an offensive putback to make it 121-118 before Curry hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to four.

Lillard then drew a questionable foul call versus Thompson on a 3-point attempt, and it was 123-121 with just 10 seconds remaining. But Curry hit two more free throws, Lillard missed a 3-pointer and Curry grabbed the rebound.

Finally, the Warriors could exhale.