PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard scored a career playoff-high 40 points and dished out 10 assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past the Golden State Warriors 120-108 on Saturday night at the Moda Center.
Al-Farouq Aminu collected 23 points and 10 rebounds and C.J. McCollum added 22 points for the Trail Blazers, who narrowed Golden State’s lead in the Western Conference semifinals to 2-1. Game 4 takes place Monday night in Portland.
Lillard was 14 for 27 from the field, including 8 for 13 from 3-point range. Aminu was 8-for-9 from the field, making four of his five 3-point attempts.
Draymond Green contributed a career playoff-high 37 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and Klay Thompson added 35 points for the Warriors, who were without injured star Stephen Curry.
Green finished with 13-for-23 shooting, going 8-for-12 from beyond the arc.
Lillard scored 25 points and Aminu contributed 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the second quarter as Portland carried a 58-46 lead into halftime. Thompson had 24 in the half for the Warriors, who were outscored 36-18 in the second period.
Portland increased its lead to 63-50, but Green buried back-to-back 3’s to whittle the margin to 63-56. The Blazers regained control with a 12-4 run that upped the advantage to 76-60. With Aminu leading the way, the Blazers took a 93-80 edge into the fourth quarter.
The Blazers increased the difference to 105-85, but Golden State used a 9-0 run to close within 105-94 with 5:25 remaining. Portland scored the next five points, and the Warriors never came closer than 12 the rest of the way.
Golden State jumped to a 16-9 lead as the Blazers started 4-for-16 from the field. Thompson scored 18 points as the Warriors carried a 28-22 advantage after the first quarter. Lillard had 11 for Portland.
The Blazers scored the first seven points of the second period to go in front 29-28. A Lillard 3-pointer pushed them ahead 42-36, and they extended the margin to 12 points at the break.
NOTES: Golden State G Stephen Curry missed his fourth straight playoff game because of a sprained right knee. The NBA’s leading scorer had his first “actual basketball” workout, a two-on-two game with members of the coaching staff, before Game 3. “He came out of it fine,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s another good step, another good sign.” Might Curry play in Game 4? “We’ll see how it goes (Sunday),” Kerr said. “We’ll put him into a three-on-three (workout) and see how he does.” … Golden State entered the game coming off four straight double-digit wins, one shy of the franchise playoff high set in 1947, when it was located in Philadelphia. … Golden State G Klay Thompson came in averaging 25.9 points in seven playoff games. … Portland had won 21 of its last 24 home games, including three straight in the postseason. … Portland C Mason Plumlee has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in seven straight games, an NBA playoff high this season. … In nine playoff games, Portland G Damian Lillard is shooting .397 on 3-point shots and .344 on 2-point shots.