De’Anthony Melton led a balanced attack with a season-high 23 points, Stephen Curry had more assists than points for the first time since last April and the Golden State Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers for the first time in four tries this season, 119-97 on Tuesday in San Francisco.
Jimmy Butler III (16 points), Brandin Podziemski (15), Moses Moody (14) and Draymond Green (10) also scored in double figures for the Warriors, who used 23 3-pointers and 34 assists to win for the third time in their past four games.
Making just two of his nine shots overall and two of his eight 3-point attempts, Curry finished with a season-low seven points and a season-high 11 assists. It was his first game with more assists than points since he had three points and eight assists against the Houston Rockets on April 6 last season.
With Deni Avdija a late scratch due to a sore back, the Trail Blazers lost a second straight game. Shaedon Sharpe topped the team with 19 points, and Caleb Love contributed 17.
After having lost the previous three meetings by a total of 29 points, the Warriors wasted no time taking charge this time around, scoring 12 of the game’s first 16 points and never looking back.
Golden State built its lead to 67-41 by halftime despite Curry having contributed just four points to the attack.
Getting a pair of 3-pointers from Toumani Camara and one each from three of his teammates, the Trail Blazers got as close as 12 before the midpoint of the third quarter. But in the end, Golden State’s 47.2% shooting overall and 39.7% from beyond the arc was too much to overcome.
Melton connected on 4 of 6 from beyond the arc en route to one more point than the 22 he had against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. Moody also buried four from deep for the Warriors, who got more than half their scoring on 3-pointers.
Green complemented his 10 points with a team-high seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. He had a pair of 3-pointers, as did Curry, Gui Santos, Will Richard and Al Horford, while Podziemski bombed in three. Santos also had four of Golden State’s 16 steals.
Rayan Rupert produced 13 points, Jrue Holiday 12 and Robert Williams III 11 for Portland, which shot 43.4% overall and 29.8% from 3-point range. Love also found time for a team-high seven assists, while Donovan Clingan was the game’s top rebounder with nine.
–Field Level Media
