Invoking the fifth
Defending champs get triple-doubles from Curry, Green
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Golden State Warriors are masters of the comeback, and Monday night was no exception.
After digging a 17-point hole late in the third quarter, Golden State took its cue and escaped with a 119-117 overtime victory over Portland in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.
For the third consecutive game, the Trail Blazers outplayed the Warriors for much of the night, only to be reminded just how daunting the defending champions are when motivated.
Stephen Curry (37 points, 11 assists, 13 rebounds) and Draymond Green (18 points, 11 assists, 14 rebounds) became the first teammates with triple-doubles in the same game in NBA playoff history.
Playing without Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and DeMarcus Cousins, Golden State became the first team to reach five consecutive finals since the Boston Celtics went to 10 in a row from 195766.
“I hope it doesn’t go unnoticed or underrated,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Five straight finals hasn’t been done since the ’60s, since Bill Russell’s Celtics. And it hasn’t been done for a reason: It’s really, really difficult.”
As Portland enters the offseason and ponders what-ifs, Golden State begins a nine-day hiatus before making its fifth consecutive NBA Finals start. It awaits the winner of the Milwaukee-Toronto series. Up 2-1 in the East finals, the Bucks visit the Raptors on Tuesday night.
The record books will show that the Trail Blazers were swept in the West finals, their first since 2000. But Portland would be flying to Oakland on Tuesday up 3-1 if not for its second-half struggles. Before Monday’s collapse, the Trail Blazers fumbled away a 15point halftime lead in Game 2 and a 13-point halftime lead in Game 3.
This was all a prelude to one of the more memorable meltdowns in recent NBA postseason history. Fueled by a career night from center Meyers Leonard (30 points, 12 rebounds) and a bevy of 3-pointers, Portland rode a 23-8 run to take a 95-78 lead with 1:55 left in the third quarter.
The Warriors quickly closed the period on a 9-0 spurt to trim the deficit to single digits. By the time Green hit a corner jumper with 3:27 left in regulation, Golden State was up 108-106 for its first lead since midway through the first quarter.
“We've been here before. We've seen everything, every experience you can imagine. So we relied on that,” Curry said.
After Leonard threw down a dunk with 1:59 remaining to put the Trail Blazers up 111-108, Klay Thompson drilled a step-back 3pointer to knot the game and, ultimately, send it to overtime, where the Warriors were 0-6 on the season.
CJ McCollum, who had 26 points, hit a 16-foot jumper with 1:41 left to give Portland a 115-114 lead, only for Alfonzo McKinnie and Green to hit shots to put Golden State up by four. With 1.3 seconds remaining and Portland down by two, Damian Lillard, who hit a 37-footer in Game 5 of the first round for a series-clinching victory over Oklahoma City, missed a 3-pointer in the corner. Lillard, who was playing with separated ribs, finished with 28 points and 12 assists.
In securing yet another Finals berth, Golden State had to withstand a barrage of 16 3-pointers from the Trail Blazers.
As the Blazers’ final shot missed its mark, Thompson, who scored 17 points, unleashed a yell and pounded his chest as a capacity Moda Center crowd at the Moda Center went silent.