OAKLAND –- The Warriors on Thursday night, for the fourth time this season, entered a game having lost two in a row. And for the fourth time, they avoided a third consecutive loss.
Stephen Curry made sure of that, scoring 19 of his game-high 45 points in the fourth quarter and leading the Warriors to a 116-105 win over the Portland Trail Blazers before a sellout crowd at Oracle Arena.
Curry personally finished off the Blazers, scoring 10 of the final 12 points for the Warriors down the stretch.
Four other Warriors scored in double figures. Klay Thompson finished with 26 points, Harrison Barnes had 12, Draymond Green totaled 11 and Andrew Bogut added 10.
Green led all rebounders with 14.
In a game that featured eight lead changes and five ties, the Warriors (64-15) shot 53.3 percent, to 46.9 percent for the Blazers.
Portland (51-28), which took a blow to its hopes to establish homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, was led by LaMarcus Aldridge's 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Damian Lillard finished with 20.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
Curry shattered his own record for 3-pointers in a single season. After drilling eight, he has 276 with three games remaining. His old record, 272, was set in 2012-13.
Hitting four of his eight 3-point attempts, Curry scored 14 of the Warriors' 30 points in the first quarter. Consider those warning shots for what was to come.
TURNING POINT
Trailing 86-84 with 10:44 to play, the Warriors went on a 14-7 run, punctuated by a Curry 3-pointer, to take a 98-93 lead which resulted in a Blazers timeout with 5:16 to play.
Though the Blazers again got within one (104-103, 2:21 to play), they never again tied or took a lead.
The Warriors closed the game on a 12-2 run over the final 2:03.
INJURY UPDATE
G Leandro Barbosa (tender left Achilles) did not play. He is expected to be available on Saturday.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Warriors return to action Saturday night at 7:30, when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves at Oracle Arena.
