The Portland Trail Blazers’ farewell home game was tight for most of the way before the Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry declared victory.
Despite taking the lead early in the fourth quarter, the Blazers were unable to limit Curry and lost the advantage late, falling 100-92.
The Blazers had only eight players available, with Dalano Banton joining the injury list with an injured ankle.
Draymond Green and Klay Thompson missed the game for the Warriors, who were scheduled to play at home against Sacramento on Friday night.
Scoot Henderson started well, scoring 10 points to give Portland an early lead. Jabari Walker assisted him with seven quick rebounds, while the Blazers got five on the offensive glass.
Steph Curry was the only one going for the Warriors, scoring eight points in the first quarter before Jonathan Kuminga came on late to give Golden State a 24-22 lead after one.
In the second quarter, however, Portland began to push the ball down low, with big man Duop Reath scoring eight points off the bench and grabbing four rebounds.
When Reath’s minutes were up, Deandre Ayton came in and overcame some early misses to go 5-for-6 from the field in the session, scoring 11 points in the second and 15 in the first half.
Golden State began to spread the ball about, with shots falling from Andrew Wiggins and Trayce Jackson-Davis, while Curry nailed his third three-pointer of the night.
After a back-and-forth game, the Warriors led 49-46 at halftime.
Walker had a great third quarter for the Blazers, scoring 11 more points and collecting six more rebounds, three of which came on offense for second chance points.
Those second tries were significant, as Portland led 20-9 after three. The Blazers also performed well defensively, forcing 14 turnovers for an additional 19 points.
When it wasn’t Walker, Henderson went to work, scoring six points in the third quarter alone.
Moses Moody led Golden State with five points, Jackson-Davis with six, and Wiggins had five. They helped the Warriors maintain a 75-74 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Blazers scored the first six points of the fourth quarter, followed by a huge 3-pointer from Kris Murray, putting them ahead 85-79 with less than nine minutes remaining.
Curry was not going to let that lead stay long, hitting two 3-pointers and scoring eight points in a row to put the Warriors back in front and then expand the lead to 92-86 with 3:09 remaining.
Despite Chauncey Billups’ timeout, the Blazers were unable to stem the tide, with Chris Paul hitting the decisive dagger on a 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining.
The Blazers pushed a play-in team to the brink, thanks to Ayton’s 25 points and 11 rebounds. Walker finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Henderson had 18 points, 12 assists, and nine turnovers.
Curry finished with 22 points to lead the Warriors, while Kuminga had 19.
The Blazers will play their final home game of the season on Friday at 7 p.m. against the Houston Rockets.