Game Report: Curry Sizzles as Golden State Warriors overcome Blazers

It wasn’t pretty early and there was no Damian Lillard, but the Golden State Warriors closed out their unbeaten preseason with a comfortable 119-97 victory.

On the back of Stephen Curry’s 41 points, the Warriors put pay to a plucky Blazers outfit who led until just before halftime. From late in the second quarter, the ‘Curry flurry’ was in full effect as he drained a series of 3-pointers pointers on his way to 35 points across the second and third periods.

Prior to that, the Warriors’ offense failed to get going, scoring just 17 points in the first quarter on the back of 7-24 from the field and 1-10 from 3-point range.

Preseason sensation Jordan Poole got going in the second half, scoring 16 points in just under 24 minutes, whilst veteran Draymond Green put up a signature line of 10, points seven assists and six rebounds in his 24 minutes.

Nemanja Bjelica and Damion Lee led the Dubs off the bench, recording 12 and 9 points respectively in just over 20 minutes of action. The former, in particular, had an interesting battle with former Warrior Marquese Chriss. As he’s demonstrated repeatedly through preseason, the Serbian showed that he’s more than just a specialist shooter. He beat Chriss twice off the dribble for layups in the second quarter, much to the annoyance of the former fan favorite.

What did we learn?

1. Warriors leave 15th roster spot open. 

Barely a moment after the final buzzer had sounded, news circulated that the Warriors were waiving Avery Bradley, Gary Payton II, Mychal Mulder and Jordan Bell. Payton II had been ruled out earlier in the day with a recurrence of his hernia injury, whilst Bradley and Mulder didn’t see minutes.

After all the discussion over preseason, it seems inevitable that the Warriors will now go into the regular season with the 15th roster spot open. Bradley failed to impress over his preseason minutes, whilst Payton’s injury may have ultimately cost him.

2. Damion Lee isn’t making up the numbers

Although the team performance hasn’t met expectations over the last two seasons, the development of players like Lee and Juan Toscano-Anderson has been a sure-fire bonus. Despite a bolstered roster for this season, don’t expect Lee to be glued to the bench. Steve Kerr said as much post-game, confirming Lee would start the season in the rotation. The 28-year-old shot 40% from three last season, a mark he’ll again look to hit.

The Warriors will open their regular season against the Lakers on Tuesday night, a game they remain outsiders for with the bookies despite the difference in fortunes across the preseason.