Scratched and banged and bruised, the Warriors found a way to outlast the Trail Blazers and advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Not until Stephen Curry buried a step-back 3-pointer with 24.9 seconds left and followed up with four free throws over the final 18.2 seconds were the Warriors able to lock up a 125-121 victory over Portland in Game 5 of the conference semifinals Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors now await the winner of the Spurs-Thunder series, which resumes Thursday with Game 6 and Oklahoma City holding a 3-2 lead.
Curry scored 29 points, while Klay Thompson poured in a game-high 33. Draymond Green totaled 13 points and Shaun Livingston added 11.
Guards Damian Lillard, with 28 points, and C.J. McCollum, with 27, led the Blazers, who torched the Warriors for 44.4-percent shooting beyond the arc.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
Curry and Thompson brought the tangible factors, while Andre Iguodala supplied elements defensive and unquantifiable.
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Curry’s line: 29 points (10-of-20 shooting, 5-of-11 from beyond the arc), 11 assists and five rebounds. He played 36 minutes and finished plus-11 for the night.
Thompson’s line: 33 points (13-of-17, 6-of-9), two rebounds and a monster block of a Lillard shot in the fourth quarter. Thompson played 35 minutes and was plus-1.
Iguodala’s line: 5 points (1-of-3, 1-of-1), four rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block and tremendous defense. He played 29 minutes and was plus-12.
TURNING POINT
After a McCollum layup gave the Blazers at 96-95 lead with 10:45 left, the Warriors responded with an 11-3 run to go up 106-99 on a Curry floater with 6:54 remaining.
The Warriors led by as much as eight and never trailed over the final 10 minutes.
The Warriors earlier wiped out a 70-62 deficit with 8:56 left in the third quarter by rallying for a lightning-quick 13-3 run to go up 75-73 with seven minutes left in the quarter. The Warriors outscored Portland 31-21 over the final 8:35 of the third.
INJURY REPORT
Warriors: C Andrew Bogut left the game after sustaining a right adductor strain in the second quarter and did not return. F Kevon Looney (L hip surgery) was listed as out, joining F James Michael McAdoo (healthy) on the inactive list.
Trail Blazers: F/C Meyers Leonard (L shoulder surgery) is listed was out, joining F Cliff Alexander (healthy) on the inactive list.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Warriors return to action next week in the conference finals. If the Spurs-Thunder series ends in six games, Game 1 will be Monday at Oracle. If that series goes seven, Game 1 will be next Wednesday, May 18.
