PORTLAND, Ore. — The bad news for the Golden State Warriors was they trailed by 18 points midway through the third quarter. The good news was that guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were heating up.
Thompson’s 3-pointer with 11.1 seconds remaining was the difference in Golden State’s wild 113-112 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night at the Moda Center.
“As good a win as we’ve had in three years,” said Mark Jackson, in his third season as Golden State’s head coach. “I’m awfully proud of the guys. It would have been very easy to fold our tent and hang our heads. It’s just a great win for us.”
Curry scored 37 points and Thompson added 27 for the Warriors, who rallied to end a two-game losing streak.
Guard Damian Lillard scored 26 points and handed out seven assists, and forward Nicolas Batum collected 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists for the Trail Blazers (43-24).
Thompson’s 3-point shot gave the Warriors a 113-111 lead. After a timeout, Lillard missed on a drive at the basket, but Batum was fouled on the put-back with 5.8 seconds remaining. He made the first foul shot but missed the second. Batum grabbed the rebound but failed to score on a desperation shot before time expired.
“We have to figure out a way to close out a game,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. “When we have an 18-point lead, we can’t take our foot off the gas.”
Curry and Thompson were non-factors early. Curry missed his first five shots from the field and didn’t score until making a pull-up jumper with 3:21 left in the second quarter. Thompson had only four points on 2-for-5 shooting in the first half.
The backcourt pair got revved up from there, combining for 51 second-half points while making nine of 19 3-point attempts in the game.
“We knew they are an explosive offensive team,” Lillard said. “They made a lot of 3s. We tried to expand our coverages, but Curry got hot. He hit some open ones, and that got him going. Then it seemed like everything started falling.”
Portland increased an 11-point halftime lead to 72-54 midway through the third quarter and, despite Curry heating up with 13 points in the quarter, the Blazers took an 85-77 edge into the final period.
The Warriors cut the margin to 91-89 on a Curry 3-pointer with 8:45 to play, then to 93-92 on a Thompson trey with 7:30 remaining. The Warriors went ahead 97-96 on a free throw by Thompson with 6:22 left.
Another Curry 3-pointer upped Golden State’s lead to 100-96 with 4:55 to go, but Batum converted a three-point play to draw Portland to within one with 4:43 remaining. Batum then bombed in a 3-pointer to push the Blazers back in front 102-100 with 3:57 to play.
Three foul shots — one off a technical foul called on Portland guard Mo Williams — gave Golden State the lead back at 103-102, but Williams answered with a 3-pointer to put the Blazers back in front 105-103. Forward David Lee’s layup tied the score at 105-105, and seconds later, he converted another one at the basket to give the Warriors a 107-105 lead.
Lillard sank two line with 2:11 left to tie the score at 107-107. Neither team scored again until Thompson buried a 3-pointer for a 110-107 lead with 53.8 seconds remaining.
Lillard scored on a driving dunk with 43 seconds left, and after a turnover, made two free throws to give the Blazers a 111-110 edge with 20.7 ticks left.
That set the stage for Thompson’s late heroics and Batum’s futile final attempt.
“I’m speechless, especially the way we won,” said Thompson, who missed the Warriors’ Friday night loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers while attending his grandfather’s funeral in The Bahamas. “We were down and out in the third quarter. It shows the resilience of this team and the unselfishness. And Steph did his thing, of course.”
Lee scored Golden State’s first eight points and had 10 in the first quarter, but Portland used a balanced attack to seize a 24-23 lead as Lillard beat the horn with a 3-pointer.
Golden State led 31-29 before the Blazers, with 3-pointers by Batum and Lillard, went on a 19-4 run to go in front 48-35. Portland settled for a 55-44 advantage at the half.
NOTES: Golden State started the game 2-for-16 from 3-point range, then made nine of its final 14 attempts to finish 11-for-30. Portland was 12-for-28 from beyond the stripe. … The Warriors blew an 18-point, third-quarter lead in their 103-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. … Portland, in the No. 5 position in the Western Conference, saw its lead over No. 6 Golden State slip to 1 1/2 games … Portland G Mo Williams returned after missing two games with a hip injury, finishing with 12 points and four assists in 31 minutes. … Portland F LaMarcus Aldridge sat out his second consecutive game due to a sore back. F Dorell Wright started in his place, and he scored 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range.