NBA: Jordan Poole puts up 41 as Warriors overtake Blazers
Jordan Poole #3 and Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates after they defeated the the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112 at Chase Center on December 30, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images/AFP
Jordan Poole exploded for 41 points and teamed with Klay Thompson and Donte DiVincenzo for three 3-pointers in a 16-2, game-ending flurry that allowed the Golden State Warriors to rally past the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112 on Friday in San Francisco.
After the teams traded 40-plus-point quarters — the Warriors had a 41-point first that helped them go up by 18, the Trail Blazers a 40-point third that vaulted them into as much as an 11-point lead — Portland took a 110-102 advantage on a Damian Lillard floater with 5:10 remaining before Golden State flipped the script.
Poole began the game-ending blitz with a short jumper at the 4:14 mark, after which Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga dunked and Poole connected from 3-point range to make it a one-point game.
While Portland was going 4:08 without a point, Kuminga dunked again to give Golden State a lead it never relinquished. Thompson connected on a 3-pointer that made it a 114-110 game with 1:36 to go.
Jordan Poole in the Warriors W:
41 PTS
5 REB
6 AST
5 3PM pic.twitter.com/xAnHl0rKZ7— NBA (@NBA) December 31, 2022
Lillard hit from the interior to end the Portland drought and cut the deficit in half with 1:02 to play, and the Trail Blazers had a chance to draw even when Poole lost the ball out of bounds.
However, DiVincenzo then stole the ball from Lillard and, 16 seconds later, produced the crushing blow with a 3-pointer that left the Trail Blazers in a 117-112 hole with 24.1 seconds to go.
Poole completed the game’s scoring with a free throw, leaving his point total two shy of the career high he established 12 days ago in Toronto.
He also contributed five rebounds and a team-high six assists for the Warriors, who were once again without Stephen Curry (shoulder) and Andrew Wiggins (non-COVID illness).
Thompson finished with 31 points after hitting seven 3-pointers for Golden State, while won its fourth straight at home over the past six days. The Warriors outscored the Trail Blazers 51-36 from beyond the arc.
Draymond Green logged 10 points and a game-high-tying 11 rebounds, while Kevon Looney also grabbed 10 boards as the Warriors took advantage of the absence of Portland big man Jusuf Nurkic, out because of a non-COVID illness.
Lillard poured in a team-high 34 points in another of his San Francisco Bay Area homecomings. Anfernee Simons returned from a scary fall to chip in with 22 points for Portland, which lost for the fourth time in its past five games.
Portland’s Josh Hart matched Green’s game-high rebound total with 11 to go with 12 points and a game-high seven assists, while Jerami Grant added 19 points.
