The Portland Trail Blazers played what will likely be their final game at Oracle Arena in a regular season, defeating the Golden State Warriors 110-109 in overtime.
You would have to go back more than five years to witness the last time the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Golden State Warriors at their famous Oracle Arena home. This past Thursday, the Blazers finally repeated their 2013 feat, outlasting the NBA Champions in a 110-109 overtime win.
Portland improved to 20-15, while Golden State dropped to 23-13.
There was something about the win that just felt, well, pre-ordained.
Don’t get me wrong, the Trail Blazers hung tough against one of the league’s best ever teams. They played decent defense throughout the contest, guys like Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu came in clutch with important plays early and late, and Jusuf Nurkic put on a show.
Nurkic was undoubtedly the best part of the Blazers offense that night. He took his pick of Draymond Green and Kevin Durant all night long, pulling out nifty spin moves and picking apart the Warriors defense when the double teams eventually came.
Oh Nurk FANCY, fancy. 👀 pic.twitter.com/uZmItLTIRe
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 28, 2018
He finished the night with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists.
But while the Blazers played well enough to win, they were also playing against the Warriors. To beat them, you need a couple other things to fall your way than just playing solid basketball. And here’s where the win felt meant to be…