‘Splash Brothers’ Lead the Way in Warriors Victory over Trail Blazers
By Ryan Viera
The ‘Splash Brothers’ led the Golden State Warriors to their 47th straight home victory with a 128-112 victory over Oakland native Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
The Warriors have dominated the Oracle Arena hardwood for well over a year.
Friday night was no different as they welcomed the Portland Trail Blazers into Oakland, and sent them packing after a 128-112 victory.
The Warriors were able to avenge a 137-105 loss to Portland back on February 19th at the Moda Center in Portland, arguably their worst performance of the season. The team shot 39% from the field and gave up a season high 137 points.
The win brings the Warriors to an NBA record 58-6, and also pushed their NBA record home winning streak to an astonishing 47 games.
The game was a homecoming for Oakland native Damian Lillard who has been on a tear since his recent All-Star snub. Since the break, Lillard has averaged 33.5 points on 48 percent shooting, including nearly 42% from behind the arc.
Lillard has posted two 50 point games, one 40 point game, five 30 point games, as well as a few 20 point games in 11 contests since the break.
The homecoming was not as sweet as he had hoped, as Lillard struggled to get things going. He finished the game with 17 points on 26.3 percent shooting, after scoring just 7 points on 18% shooting in the first half.
Things came much easier for the Warriors, who got off to a blazing start, scoring 40 points in the first quarter alone. Stephen Curry led the way in the opening period putting in 18 points, while Klay Thompson chipped in 12.
The scoring did not slow down as they answered their 40 point first quarter with a 41 point second quarter, their highest scoring half of the season.
The story of the game, however, was the success of the Warriors backcourt. What some regard as the best two backcourts in the NBA, the ‘Splash Brothers’ got the better of this match-up.
Curry ended the game with 34 points on 13-for-23 shooting, and also pitched in 4 assists. Curry also lit up the three point line, going 7-for-14 from deep.
Curry’s backcourt mate put on a show as well. Thompson had his best performance in quite awhile as he put in 37 points with great efficiency, shooting 13-for-22 from the field. Thompson had a great night from behind the arc as well, going 8-for-11 from three.
The game did have a sour note, as late in the third quarter, Andre Iguodala mishandled the ball, causing Lillard to dive on the floor. Lillard landed on Iguodala and he immediately grabbed his left ankle. Iguodala did not return but X-rays did come back negative.
With the 37 combined three pointers made by both teams on Friday night, a new NBA record was set for combined three pointers made in a single game.
The loss drops the Blazers to 34-32 who sat just one game up on the Houston Rockets for the 6th spot in the Western Conference coming in to the night.
The Warriors will be back on the court Saturday night when they welcome in the Phoenix Suns who are currently 14th in the Western Conference with a 17-48 record.