Down Eleven, the Warriors Found Their Bench Before They Found Their Shot
The reserves and a reshuffled frontcourt, not Stephen Curry's jumper, turned an 11-point hole into a 128-118 preseason win over Portland.
Golden State trailed 15-4 early before an 11-0 run leveled the game for good, then leaned on its bench to pull away. Curry finished with 20 points on a rough shooting night, still a plus-17 player, as five reserves closed out a comfortable fourth quarter.
The Hole
Portland started the better team, jumping to a 15-4 lead in the first quarter behind Damian Lillard and Ja Morant. Golden State erased it with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 15, the only lead change of the night, and never trailed again. Lillard finished with 23 points on just 4-of-10 shooting, scoring most of his total at the line, while Morant added 19 on 8-of-10 shooting in 27 minutes. The Warriors stretched their lead to 25 before Portland's reserves trimmed it in the fourth, and the final was 128-118.
Bassey at the Five
Steve Kerr started Charles Bassey at center next to Draymond Green, the traditional big-man pairing he wanted another look at. It didn't show up on the scoreboard — Bassey finished minus-7 in 8 minutes — but Georges Niang's 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting covered for it, and so did Gary Payton II's plus-7 off the bench. Yaxel Lendeborg chipped in 17 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, more evidence for Kerr's frontcourt math. The reserves scored 54 points to the starters' 67, close enough to call the rotation still unsettled.
Curry's Rough Night, Winning Anyway
Curry scored 20 points but needed 19 shots and missed 8 of 11 threes to get there. He still finished plus-17 in 26 minutes, tied with Niang for the team's best mark, because the offense kept working around him even when his own shot wasn't. Brandin Podziemski added 17 points but was the only regular to finish in the red, at minus-2.
A Fourth Quarter That Said Little
By the fourth quarter, Golden State's closing group was Payton II, Graham Ike, LJ Cryer, Tyler Burton and Will Richard, names that won't see meaningful minutes once the season opens. Portland won that quarter, 27-23, but the result had been settled for a half already. The answers this game offered were about depth and frontcourt fit, not the final score, five days before the Warriors open the regular season at the Lakers.
Did Stephen Curry play well against the Trail Blazers?
Curry scored 20 points but shot just 7 of 19, including 3 of 11 from three; he still finished a team-best plus-17 in 26 minutes.
Who started at center for the Warriors in the Portland game?
Charles Bassey started next to Draymond Green, a pairing Steve Kerr wanted another look at, though Bassey finished minus-7 in 8 minutes.
