Warriors instant analysis: Steph Curry’s record-breaking effort not enough to beat Blazers

Steph Curry s first -pointer of the third quarter rippled the net from feet away eliciting a murmur from the Portland crowd at Moda Center on Sunday night His second make was a -foot stepback from the right wing turning the murmur into nervous groans on the very next possession Curry s third make in a minute and a half was a -foot rainbow from the opposite wing after dribbling around screens and by that point even the Blazer diehards had to cheer for the marksmanship they were witnessing Curry scored and made -pointers surpassing Michael Jordan for the the bulk -point games after turning However he was not perfect in the Warriors - loss missing a driving layup with seconds remaining and down by one point Deni Avdija knocked down two free throws to push the lead to three and Curry had another late turnover to help secure the tournament for the Blazers Though the last seconds took around minutes to play the Warriors eventually fell to - against Portland We re just not closing games down the stretch coach Steve Kerr mentioned it was a tournament where the Kerr chased the win with Curry starting the fourth quarter rather than beginning the frame watching from the bench as usual Shaedon Sharpe did his best to keep up with Curry scoring a team-high for the Blazers Jerami Grant also put in points Jimmy Butler III scored and made free throws as all five Warriors starters hit double-figures in scoring but no other Warrior was able to hit the -point threshold The Warriors were coming off a - home loss to the Timberwolves a product preceded by a pair of road wins in Cleveland and Chicago For the second tournament in a row defense was nowhere to be seen The Warriors led - at halftime as the teams blasted up and down the court and - after three quarters The Warriors enjoyed a -point lead in the fourth quarter but a - run led by Grant helped Portland take a lead Curry s th triple gave the Warriors another lead as the teams went back and forth Portland made the plays down the stretch to pull out the mastery Golden State - will have another three nights off before playing at Phoenix on Thursday Draymond returns After missing the past three games because of a right foot sprain and for a personal reason Draymond Green returned to the lineup and started next to Post Rust was not a factor against a Blazers lineup that started Donovan Clingan who injured Green on a rebound during the Warriors last challenge against the Blazers in November Green played minutes dishing out eight assists and grabbing seven rebounds He did commit eight turnovers but also had three steals His potential is amazing for us and he plays so hard Kerr declared He just has to find a way to walk that line he should have had three turnovers instead of eight Green scored in the first half alone by making of field goals and burying a couple of -pointers He was aggressive throughout when it came to attacking open space inevitably looking to get the ball to Curry or shooters Blazers have another hot shooting night Statistics say that the Trail Blazers are the least threatening long-range unit in the NBA Though they are fourth in attempts per challenge Portland is dead last in accuracy at But while the Blazers are usually ineffective from behind the arc there is just something about the Warriors defense that turns bricklayers into snipers Portland made of in the first regular season matchup and then followed that up with a of night in another accomplishment on Nov Sunday night was more of the same despite Draymond Green s return In the rubber match Portland made of triples connecting on of in the first half After Curry put the Warriors up by in the fourth quarter Grant buried a couple of warmup threes from the corners to keep the Blazers in the encounter Familiar foe If it feels as if Golden State is facing the Blazers every other tournament there is a reason for that The Warriors and Blazers have played five times since Oct twice in the preseason and then thrice over the first two months of the regular season Three of those matchups have been in the Pacific Northwest which is where Sunday s encounter took place They will play once more on Jan in the Bay Area New starting lineup Steve Kerr cannot be accused of being stuck in his procedures at least when it comes to switching up the starting five The Warriors trotted out their ninth different lineup in as a great number of games against the Blazers This time Steph Curry Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody lined up on the perimeter while Draymond Green and Quinten Post played the frontcourt spots Because of injuries and absences the Warriors have used different starting fives in games this season