Curry outduels Lillard for most of night but Blazers edge Warriors.

Golden State’s supporting cast missing in action

With 6:58 left and his team nursing a twopoint lead, Warriors guard Stephen Curry checked back in Wednesday night — nearly a full minute before his usual return midway through the fourth quarter.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr knew this game could have playoff implications, and the Warriors needed Curry on the floor. But after outdueling Portland guard Damian

Lillard much of the night, Curry looked uncharacteristically human when it mattered most, missing crucial shots late as Golden State lost 108106 to the Blazers at Moda Center.

With the Warriors up three and 1:01 left, Curry clanged a tip shot off a missed 3point try from Kent Bazemore. After Andrew Wiggins corralled the offensive rebound and found Curry, he missed a 3point try of his own.

Little more than 30 seconds later, with his team down one, Curry drove into the key and clanged a floater off back iron. With a chance to take the lead on a 3pointer in the waning moments, Curry, blanketed, found a wideopen Draymond Green. But just as Green seemed poised to race in for an easy layup, Lillard got his feet set and took the charge.

After watching teammate Damion Lee’s 37foot heave at the buzzer fall well short of the

rim, Curry grabbed his shorts and shook his head. This one hurt. In a game that had been billed as a matchup between the league’s two best point guards, Curry had been outdone by his rival down the stretch. Lillard scored 11 of his 22 points over the final 2:06 to ensure that the Trail Blazers won the season series over Golden State.

That could matter come playoff time. In a crowded Western Conference, fifthplace Portland now sits two games ahead of the ninthplace Warriors. A tiebreaker between the two teams, if it comes to that, would go to the Trail Blazers.

But at the moment, the Warriors are more concerned with navigating a sixgame stretch against five of the West’s best teams. That gauntlet opened with a thud as Golden State was routed by the Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday. After a day off and a practice, the Warriors opened Wednesday with a 152 lead over the Trail Blazers, only for their supporting cast to falter.

It hardly helped that Kelly Oubre Jr., the team’s most consistent player in recent weeks, had been ruled out with a sprained left wrist. With Oubre watching from the bench in street clothes, Curry finished with 35 points. No other Golden State player recorded more than 14.

With uneven production, the Warriors became predictable in the game’s critical stages. The Trail Blazers sent waves of doubleteams at Curry. He hit two 3pointers and a floater after returning with little less than seven minutes left, but he went scoreless over the final 2:15.

It made the loss only more frustrating for the Warriors that they’d have to fly to Phoenix later that night. Before Golden State can get a muchneeded AllStar break, it has to face a Suns team that looks poised to secure the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2010.

The Warriors can only hope that Oubre is available. Although Curry can make the absurd look routine, he is only human. He needs some support.

Abbie Parr / Getty Images Damian Lillard, who scored 11 of his 22 points over the final twoplus minutes, shoots the gamewinner over Kent Bazemore.

Craig Mitchelldyer / Associated Press Portland guard Damian Lillard takes the charge from Warriors forward Draymond Green, a crucial play in the final seconds of the Golden State’s 108106 loss.

Abbie Parr / Getty Images Stephen Curry did his job, scoring 35 points — but no other Warrior scored more than 14 in the twopoint loss.