The Great Pacific Northwest Shootout developed as advertised, Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in a spirited duel with Trail Blazers guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollumn at Moda Center in Portland.
The Warriors had a third shooter, however, and he played a decisive role Friday night in a 128-108 victory over the Blazers.
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Brandon Rush poured in 20 points in 29 minutes -– his highest scoring output since April 2012 –- to join Curry and Thompson in combining for 82 points on only 49 shots in fueling an offense that was near the top of its game.
“We knew what Brandon was capable of because he had lost confidence in his game and in real games,” interim Warriors coach Luke Walton said. “But in practice that’s what we see from him so we know that he’s capable of doing this. There’s no way of ever knowing if a player is going to gain his confidence back or not, but we obviously as a staff and an organization love Brandon.
“So to see him get this opportunity and continue to play at such a level and see him having fun out there and gain that confidence back has been great.”
It wasn’t just that Rush was prolific. He also was exceedingly efficient: 8-of-9 shooting, including all four of his shots beyond the 3-point arc. He also starred in a sequence in which he blocked a shot on one end and wound up with a soaring dunk on the other.
“I’m feeling really confident in attacking the rim,” Rush said. “And I got some open threes tonight."
So strong were Rush, Curry and Thompson that Draymond Green’s NBA-best eighth triple-double –- 11 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists –- was little more than a highly effective sideshow.
The Warriors rang up 36 assists on 46 baskets en route to becoming the first team in NBA history to go 34-2 through its first 36 games.
Golden State took a double-digit lead in the first half, largely on the production of Thompson, who scored 19 points in the opening quarter, and never really were seriously threatened.
The Portland trio of Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Allen Crabbe fired back but needed 64 shots to combine for 75 points. The Warriors turned the Blazers into volume shooters, who made only 38-of-96 shots (36.4 percent).
“We got stops early and obviously had some guys that had some individual good games,” Curry said. “But for the most part we stuck to our principals, made it tough on them and played our game.”
Said Walton: “The team still scored over 100 points, they’re a good team and they run good stuff. We had a couple stallouts early in the second quarter and then again to start the second half, but that’s going to happen in 48 minutes and for the most part our guys’ effort tonight was excellent.”
Nothing, however, was a more welcome sight than Rush proving he is finally completely back to being the two-way threat he was prior to a devastating knee injury on Nov. 2, 2012. He endured a long recovery and, clearly, was still searching for his game last season when he shot 11.1 percent beyond the arc last season, making only 3-of-27 attempts.
This season? Rush leads the Warriors in long-distance shooting, firing at 47.9 percent on 35-of-73 from deep. He has been the beneficiary of defenses designed to focus on Curry and Thompson.
“They always try to double on Steph and Klay,” Rush noted, “so I’m always open in the corner and stuff for open threes.”
On this night, he was the third shooter, and it was more than enough to take out the Blazers.
