Turns out there is a way for the Golden State Warriors to beat the Portland Trail Blazers in NBA action this season! All they have to do is catch the Blazers with Deni Avdija sitting on the sidelines with a bad
back, which they did tonight. After losing three times to the Blazers in three previous tries, the Warriors downed the Blazers 119-97 in a game that was nowhere near that close. DeAnthony Melton cruised to 23 points for the winners and Shaedon Sharpe notched 19 for the Blazers.
Player of the Game
The key player for the Blazers was probably Deni Avdija, who is nursing a bad back and was unable to play. His absence was notable on offense, as expected, but the defense also took a hit. Shaedon Sharpe did most of the heavy lifting in Deni’s absence, producing 19 points in 28 heavily-contested minutes.
Stat of the Night
Three-point field goals determined the outcome of this game, and it wasn’t pretty if you are a Portland partisan. The Warriors hit 23 of 58 (40%) compared to 14 of 47 (30%) for the Blazers, with many of the shots wide open for both teams.
What We Noticed
The Blazers couldn’t find a shot they could make in the first half, shooting 37% from the field (15-41), 17% from outside (3-18) and 67% from the free-throw (8-12) line to dig a 67-41 hole. Meanwhile the Warriors were on cruise control with 13 threes from 8 different players. Steph Curry was only 1-7 but had 7 assists.
The second half? According to the NBC halftime crew, there was no reason to even play the second half. The Blazers apparently didn’t get the memo, though, and came out with a 12-2 run to trigger a Warriors timeout. Unfortunately, the hosts restored order thereafter.
Jrue Holiday played 21 minutes in his second game back, scoring 12 points with 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 turnovers. That all added up to a +1 in the plus-minus count, a notable number in a blowout loss.
Up Next
The Blazers are back home Thursday to host the Atlanta Hawks. Game time is 7 p.m., PST.
