OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry scored 19 of his game-high 45 points in the fourth quarter Thursday night, helping the Golden State Warriors outlast the Portland Trail Blazers 116-105 in a nationally televised game.
Curry sank eight 3-pointers (on 13 attempts), giving him an NBA single-season record 276 baskets from beyond the arc this season. He broke the mark of 272 that he set in 2012-13.
In a battle of teams that previously clinched Western Conference division titles, the Warriors (64-15) completed a three-game, season-series sweep of the Trail Blazers (51-28) while also snapping a two-game losing streak.
The Pacific Division champs won their 15th in a row at home and 20th in succession at Oracle Arena against Western competition. It was the Warriors’ 45th win this season by a double-figure margin.
The Warriors earned their 36th home win this season, allowing them to tie the franchise record set during the 1975-76 season.
Portland, the Northwest Division champ, led 93-92 at the midpoint of the fourth quarter before Curry and backcourt mate Klay Thompson did all the Golden State scoring with the exception of two points in a 24-12, game-ending run.
Curry had 17 of those points, including a pair of 3-pointers and three free throws after he was fouled attempting a shot from behind the arc.
Curry hit 17 of 23 shots en route to his fifth outing with 30 or more points against the Trail Blazers in the teams’ past six meetings. The Most Valuable Player candidate also found time for a game-high nine assists.
Thompson finished with 26 points, hitting 10 of 21 shots. He made three 3-pointers, and the Warriors (12-for-26) outscored the Trail Blazers (7-for-24) 36-21 from beyond the arc.
Power forward Draymond Green had an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double for the Warriors, who earlier clinched home-court advantage through playoffs.
Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points to lead Portland, which lost a half-game in its battle to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Point guard Damian Lillard had 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Portland, which was playing the second half of a back-to-back. The Trail Blazers won 116-91 at home over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
Backup guard C.J. McCollum added 17 points for Portland, which fell to 19-20 on the road.
The Trail Blazers led by as many as 13 in the second quarter, and the Warriors were ahead by as many as 11 in the third before the clubs entered the fourth period on even terms at 84-all.
Lillard had seven of his 20 points in Portland’s best spurt of the night, an 18-2 burst that turned a three-point deficit into a 49-36 lead just past the midpoint of the second quarter.
The Warriors rallied into a 57-54 halftime lead by outscoring the visitors 21-5 the rest of the half, with Curry (eight) and Thompson (eight) accounting for 16 of the points.
When Golden State scored 10 of the second half’s first 12 points, the three-point halftime lead ballooned to 67-56. Green had a 3-pointer in the run.
However, as was the pattern in the first half, the Trail Blazers rebounded with authority, using 12 points by Aldridge to get even by period’s end.
NOTES: Both of the Warriors’ possible first-round playoff opponents — New Orleans and Oklahoma City — had Thursday off. The Pelicans and Thunder enter the final four games of the season tied, with New Orleans holding the tiebreaker advantage. … Warriors coach Steve Kerr noted before the game that he believes the remaining schedule — all at home with a day off in between each game — lays out perfectly for his club. “I’m excited about what we can do between now and our first playoff game,” he said. … The last team to win at least 50 games one season and then improve by at least 13 games the next was the Philadelphia 76ers, who won 55 games in 1965-66 and 68 the following year. … Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts admitted before the opening tip that his staff already began its playoff preparations despite the fact Portland could wind up playing any of four teams.