The Blazers Blew Out The Warriors 137-105 Behind A Career-High 51 Points From Damian Lillard

The Blazers hosted Steph Curry and the Warriors Friday night in Portland, but it was Damian Lillard who cast himself in the role of otherworldly offensive threat as he exploded for a career-high 51 points, including 9-of-12 shooting from (way) downtown and a 21-point fourth-quarter scoring barrage that helped seal a decisive, if not surprising, 32-point victory over the Golden State juggernaut.

C.J. McCollum contributed 21 points and seven assists on 50 percent shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from long-range for a scrappy Portland squad that pounced on the defending champs early, at one point racing out to a 19-point lead in the second quarter. The Warriors would make a run and close the gap to 68-62 by halftime, thanks in part to Curry’s six first-half three-pointers. But the Blazers – and Lillard in particular – were not to be denied on this night.

Maybe he was feeling well-rested after the week-long All-Star break, or maybe it was precisely because he was left out of the festivities in Toronto last weekend that the former All-Star was playing like he had something to prove.

Either way, Dame was doing a little bit of everything as he added seven assists, six steals, and one beautiful drive to the basket on a hapless Harrison Barnes.

Curry finished with 31 points on the night, while Klay Thompson chipped in 23, but the Warriors didn’t get much help from anyone else as they had just two other players in double figures. Draymond Green flirted with a triple-double as he posted 14 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists but was responsible for nine of the Warriors’ 20 total turnovers. It was just the fifth loss of the season for Golden State, who are still on track to challenge the ’96 Bulls single-season win record of 72-10.

The Blazers, meanwhile, are on a four-game win streak and have won nine out of the last ten as they hold a precarious grasp on the seventh spot in the Western Conference standings, just a game ahead of the Houston Rockets. They’ll host Utah at home on Sunday, while the Warriors will travel to Los Angeles for the second night of a back-to-back against the Clippers Saturday.

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