Best of the Season, Part XV: Blazers win ninth straight, take season series against Warriors
The Blazers went on a 13-game winning spree that began with a victory over Golden State. They secured win No. 9 in a row against that same foe.
The Portland Trail Blazers’ 2017-2018 season ended in disappointing fashion. And since a first-round sweep is such an emphatic dud of an ending, it’s easy to dwell on the negative.
But why ruin a sunny almost-summer Sunday in Portland with a recap of a story we’d just as soon forget? Let’s focus on the positive.
Righto, I say! The Blazers’ season may have ended with a thud of a dud — crud! — but there were still some fantastic moments this year. That’s what our best of the season series is all about. So let’s get on with it so we can get outside into that gorgeous, golden Pacific Northwest sunshine.
Blazers Win Streak
As we wrote in “Best of the Season, Part XIV,” in which Portland beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, “the Blazers had beaten the Golden State Warriors, the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves during their streak. And they were just getting started.”
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Win No. 8 in a row had come at home against the New York Knicks. After that game, Portland had a few days off in order to prep for the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
Warriors-Blazers
The Warriors arrived in Rip City for their Friday, March 9, tilt with a record of 51-14.
Interestingly, Golden State was then riding a victory streak of its own, having won seven straight games. Their last loss? That Valentine’s Day beatdown at the hands of — you guessed it — the Portland Trail Blazers.
Long story short: The Warriors won seven straight games sandwiched in between two losses to the Trail Blazers.
The Game
Golden State was nursing some injuries to a few key players when they played Portland on March 9. Most notably, Stephen Curry who missed the game with a bum ankle. The Warriors were also without Andre Iguodala and David West.
But as we all know, Golden State is stacked. So even though they were missing Curry, Iguodala and West, they still sported Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
And those players produced. Durant scored 40 points on 12/21 shooting and added six rebounds and six assists. Thompson scored 25 points, and Green had 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals to go along with seven points.
But it wasn’t enough. Portland was better.
The Stats
The superhero for the Blazers was C.J. McCollum, who scored 30 points on 10/19 shooting, including 5/9 from three. And the Blazers dominated the boards, out-rebounding Golden State 46-33. Jusuf Nurkic had 11 of those rebounds and Ed Davis came off the bench to snare 15 boards of his own.
Portland had seven players in double-figure scoring, including McCollum. Damian Lillard had 28 points, although he shot poorly, going just 8/21 from the field. Evan Turner and Zach Collins had 12 each. Nurkic, Davis and Shabazz Napier added 10 points each.
Seven Blazers scored in double figs tonight. McCollum led the Blazers with 30. Lillard had 28. Turner and Collins chipped in 12 apiece. Davis, Nurkic and Napier each had 10. Davis added 15 rebounds; Nurkic had 11. The Blazers shot 49.4% from the field (41% from three). #RipCity
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) March 10, 2018
It was becoming a matter of routine for Portland: During their winning streak, they were getting healthy and hefty contributions from all over the lineup.
Next: Some choice quotes from players working out for the Blazers
Final score: Trail Blazers 125, Warriors 108.
Definitely one of the best games of the season.
Stay tuned for more.