Another fourth-quarter rally lifts Golden State Warriors to four-straight wins

Two days after a 24-13 fourth-quarter surge lifted them to a win over the Utah Jazz, the Golden State Warriors have again pulled victory out of the fire against the Portland Trail Blazers.

72 combined points from Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson proved enough for the Warriors to claim their fourth-straight win. A 40-point third-quarter from the Trail Blazers threatened to derail an excellent Golden State start, but the reigning champions rallied in a 30-16 final period to secure a 118-112 victory.

In a topsy-turvy clash at Chase Center, the Golden State Warriors finished on a 16-2 run to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

The Warriors had an 18-point lead at one stage in the first-quarter, with Poole and Thompson combining for 29 points on 12-for-16 shooting. The opening period was punctuated with a succesful half-court heave from Ty Jerome at the buzzer, but after 41 points in the first 12 minutes, Golden State’s offensive efficiency deserted them in the next two quarters.

Led by the trio of Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant, Portland crawled their way back into the contest with a 31-19 second period that cut the Golden State lead to four at half-time. Their 40-point third-quarter then gave them an eight-point lead heading into the fourth, and that lead remained until under 4:30 to play in the ball game.

Motivated by a boisterous home crowd, the Warriors’ defense kicked fully into gear as the Trail Blazers managed just two points over the final five minutes. That was, as always, led by Draymond Green whose defense has been mind-bogglingly good in the clutch minutes of the last two games.

He was ably supported by Jonathan Kuminga and Donte Divincenzo though, with the latter producing the defining 20 seconds of the game in the final minute. With Portland down two and the ball in the hands of superstar Lillard, DiVincenzo poked the ball loose to come up with a crucial steal. After Poole then drew two defenders down the other end, DiVincenzo hit the dagger three to seal another Warriors win.

Poole finished with 41 points, five rebounds and six assists on 14-for-23 (60.9%) shooting and 5-for-10 (50%) from three-point range. Thompson knocked down seven triples on 46.7% from beyond the arc, finishing with 31 points and four rebounds on an even 50% shooting. Green had ten points, 11 rebounds and four assists, while DiVincenzo had nine points, nine rebounds and four assists. Jerome and Kuminga continued their strong form off the bench, each contributing nine points as both played important minutes down the stretch.

The win has elevated Golden State to above .500 at 19-18 on the season, now placing them ninth in the Western Conference and just two games back from the fourth-seed Los Angeles Clippers. They’ll look to add to their winning streak when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.