Portland, OR – Jamal Crawford scored 34 points off the bench as the Portland Trail Blazers escaped with a 118-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors at the Rose Garden.
J.J. Hickson had 23 points and 13 rebounds in place of LaMarcus Aldridge, who did not play after having an abnormality discovered in his hip on Wednesday and will be re-evaluated over the next day or two.
Wesley Matthews finished with 18 points and Raymond Felton contributed 16 points and 10 assists for Portland, which snapped a two-game slide and currently sits in the 11th seed of the Western Conference.
David Lee paced Golden State with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Nate Robinson netted 19 points for the Warriors, who were eliminated from the playoffs with the loss.
Portland entered the third quarter leading 62-55, and opened the frame with seven straight points to run out to a 69-55 advantage.
Golden State trailed by double digits for the remainder of the third, but Richard Jefferson closed out the third with a three-pointer to bring the Warriors within 85-75 and started the fourth with a layup as part of a 13-0 run that spanned both quarters to knot the game at 85.
A 6-2 spurt by the Trail Blazers put them back on top before Golden State answered with a 9-4 swing to take its first lead of the game since early in the second quarter on Brandon Rush's three-point play, 96-95.
It would be short-lived, however, as Joel Przybilla snapped the run with a jumper to spark a 6-0 push and give Portland the lead for good.
Golden State managed to cut its deficit to 109-107 with about a minute left in the game, but Matthews connected on a jumper and then drained a trey after a Robinson miss on the other end to stretch the Blazers' lead back to seven points and Portland went 4-for-4 from the foul line down the stretch to hang on for the win.
Portland opened the game with an 11-4 run to take the early lead, but the Warriors battled back with a 13-6 swing to knot the game at 17 with a little over three minutes left in the first.
After a pair of Lee free throws tied the game at 21 a minute later, the Trail Blazers closed out the first with a 9-4 spurt to carry a 30-25 advantage into the second quarter.
Golden State then opened the second with a 9-3 push to take a 34-33 edge, but Crawford put an end to the run with a jumper, sparking a 10-2 spurt that put Portland back on top, 43-36, and the Warriors would never lead again.
The Warriors answered with six straight points to close the gap to one before a 13-5 run that Luke Babbitt and Nicolas Batum capped with back-to-back three- pointers stretched the Trail Blazers' lead back up to 56-48 and they led, 62-55, at the break.
Game Notes
Portland held a 45-38 advantage on the glass, but Golden State outscored the Trail Blazers in the paint, 68-40...Jefferson finished with 15 points for Golden State, while Przybilla pulled down 14 boards for Portland...The Warriors made 8-of-11 free throws...The Trail Blazers connected on 24-of-28 shots from the charity stripe.
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