The Golden State Warriors spoiled a perfect preseason for the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night. Trailing by as much as 25 points, the Blazers played from behind most of the game, losing 128-118.
Damian Lillard led Portland with 23 points, two assists and one rebound, shooting 4-for-10 from the field and 2-for-5 from 3-point range. He lived at the free throw line, sinking all 13 of his attempts. Ja Morant arguably had his best performance of the preseason, dropping 19 points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal on an 8-for-10 outing, connecting on all three of his 3-pointers. Scoot Henderson didn't have the greatest shooting night, though managed 17 points.
Deni Avdija struggled mightily. The former All-Star shot 33 percent and missed all four of his 3-point attempts, registering 12 points, three assists and four rebounds. Toumani Camara had 11 points and made three treys. Donovan Clingan pulled down 11 rebounds to go with his six points.
Stephen Curry had 20 points to lead the Warriors. Brandin Podziemski and Al Horford added 17 points each, followed by Georges Niang with 15 and Gary Payton II with 13.
First-half woes
A poor shooting first half and lopsided bench production made the difference. The Blazers lost the first quarter by nine points, at one point allowing a 17-2 run by the Warriors. Portland shot an awful 5-for-17 from beyond the arc while allowing nine made threes from Golden State. The Blazers committed 10 turnovers, an egregious seven in the first quarter, and allowed nine offensive rebounds.
The Warriors outscored Portland's bench 36-7 in the first half. Horford ate all night, the Blazers repeatedly leaving the big man wide open on the perimeter.
It's not wise to overreact to any preseason performance, but the Blazers made plenty of silly mistakes — like Clingan getting stripped by Yaxel Lendenborg on a defensive rebound in the second quarter, or Morant compounding a turnover with a lazy foul on Podziemski immediately on the Warriors' ensuing possession.
Wins against a depleted Warriors team, the London Lions and the Sacramento Kings are nothing to write home about. In the Blazers first (unofficial) test against a real team, they showed there's plenty to clean up. But it's the preseason. And October. Nothing to panic, or excessively ruminate on, just yet.
Portland opens the regular season against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday at the Moda Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
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