The high-scoring affair in Mile High between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets on Thursday did not fall in favor of the Blazers, who lost 132-120 for their fifth defeat in six games.
About the only bright sport in Portland nowadays is Damian Lillard, who racked up 40 points and 11 assists in the loss. Lillard has now scored 30 or more points in three of his last five outings, and will once again be the focal point of the offense as it tries to slow down the Warriors on Saturday.
As for the rest of the Blazers, though, there was not a whole lot to like about Dame’s supporting crew at all. Portland’s bench scored just 23 points as a unit on Thursday, which was the exact number of points that the team’s only other proven scorer, C.J. McCollum, put up that evening.
Don’t get us started on the team’s defense, either. The Blazers just allowed eight Denver players to score in double figures and they’ll definitely have a tougher time trying to contain Golden State’s fluid ball movement. Mind you that they currently have the third-worst scoring defense in the NBA (111.4 points allowed per game), and they’ll now take on the league’s top-scoring team Saturday on the road.
To make matters worse, Portland has lost seven of its last eight road contests (2-6 ATS). You’ve been warned: steer clear from this dysfunctional Blazers squad for the time being.
Like the Blazers, the Golden State Warriors were not on the top of their game this Thursday. But Golden State’s passable effort was clearly good enough to dispatch the short-handed New York Knicks, 103-90, as the team sealed its third-straight win hardly breaking a sweat.
There were no dazzling fireworks seen from the Warriors’ potent offense that evening. Instead, there was enough love to go around for the entire team, as Stephen Curry (eight points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) and Kevin Durant (15 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists) nearly got triple-doubles apiece in lieu of explosive scoring performances.
The real story about the Dubs’ win, however, is how they further proved that they can get anybody and everybody involved on the action. They finished with a staggering 41 assists on Thursday, dishing out an NBA-record 26 dimes in the first half alone on all 26 of their made field-goal attempts.
That field-goal-to-assist streak even went as far as 36-consecutive baskets well into the second half before the Warriors put themselves in cruise control for the inevitable victory. And to put things into better perspective: Curry, Durant and Draymond Green had a combined 25 assists in the win, which was six assists more than the Knicks tallied in the entire contest.
There’s no stopping Golden State’s barrage just yet, and the Blazers are about to become yet another sacrificial lamb to the team’s on-going onslaught, especially since the Warriors have won seven of their last eight meetings (6-2 ATS) against the Blazers. That stretch includes the four victories from last season’s quick five-game playoff series and the 127-104 drubbing in Portland just a little over a month ago.
