Golden State Warriors: Depleted roster defeated in Portland

The Golden State Warriors just didn’t have an answer for the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday at the Moda Center.

The one and only thing stopping the Golden State Warriors from winning another NBA title is the injury bug, apparently.

Paying a visit to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, the Dubs came into Moda Center without Stephen Curry (tweaked right ankle), Andre Iguodala (left wrist sprain), David West (right arm cyst), Jordan Bell (right ankle sprain) and Patrick McCaw (non-displaced fracture, left wrist).

As expected, the shorthanded Warriors struggled the entire length of the game, failing to put together a consistent enough effort to go on one of their patented runs to close out the night. Despite a respectable comeback attempt, Golden State ended up losing 125-108.

The Warriors fall to 51-15, ending their 7-game win streak. This loss hurts even more considering the Houston Rockets’ loss to the Toronto Raptors earlier Friday evening, which had originally opened the door for the Warriors to reclaim the first seed in the Western Conference.

Kevin Durant paced the Dubs Friday night in Portland, dropping in 40 points, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks in 37 minutes. He shot 12-of-21 from the field, 6-of-12 from behind the arc and 10-of-10 from the free throw line.

Klay Thompson had a pretty solid night scoring, posting 25 points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal on 9-of-19 shooting from the field, 4-of-7 shooting from long range and 3-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe.

JaVale McGee added 10 points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 20 minutes, shooting 5-of-7 from the field.

Next: Steph Curry not expected to travel to Minnesota

Before they return to Oracle Arena to host the Los Angeles Lakers next Wednesday, Golden State will first head to the Target Center, home of Karl-Anthony Towns and the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves (38-29).

It all goes down on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. PST!