Record-breaking Golden State Warriors blast by Trail Blazers to secure playoff spot

The Golden State Warriors have secured their second-straight playoff appearance, and eighth in the past ten seasons, with a dominant 157-101 win over the Portland Trail Blazers to close out the regular season.

Any thought of a surprise loss, and subsequent participation in the Play-In Tournament, was put to bed from the opening minutes as the defending champions posted an NBA record 55-point first-quarter. One eye then turned to the crucial matchup in Phoenix between the Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers, with the visitors eventually getting it done to retain hold of the fifth-seed.

Despite an up-and-down season, the Golden State Warriors have won eight of their last ten to finish sixth in the Western Conference.

Klay Thompson needed five made threes to hit 300 for the season, and he wasted no time with four in less than three minutes as the Warriors immediately grew a double-digit lead. Thompson would hit his fifth shortly after as part of 12 made threes as a team in the opening period, with Golden State exploding out to an unassailable 28-point lead.

The Warriors cooled down a little in the second-quarter, but finished the first half with 25 assists to just five turnovers. They would shoot nearly 60% from the field and over 50% on 15 made threes, pouring in 84 points to take a 31-point lead.

It was a near-perfect display from Golden State, allowing Steve Kerr to rest his starters from the middle of the third-quarter. Thompson and Stephen Curry both played around 22 minutes, but that was more than enough time for them to combine for 46 points, ten rebounds and eight assists. The remainder of the game was about the youngsters having some fun, starting with a monstrous one-hand jam from Jonathan Kuminga to put an exclamation mark on the third period.

Moses Moody then led the surge in the fourth, finishing 10-for-14 from the field for a season-high 25 points in 29 minutes off the bench. The Warriors put up another 39 points in the final 12 minutes to finish with 157 — easily beating their previous season-high of 144 that came in a double overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks on January 13.

Golden State tied a franchise record for assists with 47, and for made three-pointers with 27. They shot 60.4% from the field and 55.1% from deep, had a rebound differential of +17, and recorded an equal season-high 13 steals.

The Warriors will now meet the Sacramento Kings in the first-round of the postseason, a solid result given their turbulent season. They’ll now have a week off to prepare for the matchup, with attention now focusing on their ability to reintegrate starting small-forward Andrew Wiggins.