The Golden State Warriors fell to the Portland Trail Blazers in a tightly contested Emirates NBA Cup group-stage matchup, 127–123, at Chase Center. The game was defined by Portland’s dominance on the offensive glass and their ability to convert second-chance opportunities into momentum-shifting baskets. Despite Stephen Curry’s 38 points, the Warriors could not overcome the rebounding disparity and late-game execution of the Blazers.
Portland set the tone early, taking a 35–28 lead after the first quarter. Golden State responded with a strong second period, scoring 44 points to narrow the deficit to 65–63 at halftime. The third quarter swung back in Portland’s favor, as they outscored the Warriors 29–25, reclaiming control heading into the final frame. In the fourth quarter, the Blazers never relinquished the lead, answering every Warriors push and ultimately sealing the win at the free-throw line.
Deni Avdija was the star of the night for Portland, finishing with 26 points, a career-high 14 assists, and six rebounds. His ability to attack downhill and create for teammates consistently broke down Golden State’s defense. Donovan Clingan added a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, punishing the Warriors inside and capitalizing on lob opportunities. Caleb Love chipped in 26 points, with several of his three-pointers coming directly off offensive rebounds that underscored the Warriors’ struggles on the boards. Toumani Camara contributed 20 points, while Sidy Cissoko added 15, giving Portland balanced scoring across the lineup.
Stephen Curry did everything he could to keep Golden State in the game, scoring 38 points and hitting nine three-pointers. His late surge brought the Warriors within one possession in the final minute, but Avdija’s composure at the line closed the door. Golden State’s inability to secure rebounds proved fatal, as Portland converted a 28–10 advantage in second-chance points.
After the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr emphasized the impact of rebounding on the outcome.
“Yes. That was the game. A lot of them turned into threes. A couple of Caleb Love’s threes. Offensive boards, 28-10 second chance points. They are an athletic team. A couple of their guys are super athletic. They crash, they put a lot of pressure on us. That was the difference.”
Kerr also noted that Al Horford was unavailable in the fourth quarter, saying,
“He was unavailable. I don’t know exactly what happened, but Yoder (Drew Yoder – Director, Medical Services) came to me late in the third and said that Al was out. I’m not sure what it was.”
Kerr discussed the team’s attempts to counter Portland’s size, explaining,
“You can overcome it with execution and hitting bodies, rebounding-wise. We tried to play big more in the second half, obviously we started Quinten (Post) for Will (Richard) and we played Trayce (Jackson-Davis) some. We tried to keep our bigger guys out there. Give them credit, they played a great second half.”
He added that defensive consistency remains a focus, noting,
“Tonight, what hurt us was the second chance stuff. I thought (Deni) Avdija was fantastic getting downhill. Early in the game he found (Donovan) Clingan for a couple of lobs and that is where we decided that we had to get bigger out there.”
Curry echoed his coach’s concerns about rebounding and defensive lapses.
“Pretty much perfect basketball on the other end. It is still crazy that we were within a one possession game with whatever it was a minute and a half with that type of discrepancy. It is like you can play as hard as you want to, fly around but the best offense and the most demoralizing thing for a defense is 20 seconds of good defense and an easy put back or a second or third opportunities. We know that we are small out there at times but we have to play bigger than we are.”
On the team’s defensive consistency, Curry said,
“I think we had some bright spots in some games that we have shown that we can do it for 48 minutes, and we have had some duds, even tonight we had some ebs and flows. We have the answers, we just have reminders that you have to fly around, be on a string, not have mental errors when you are letting guys get to their strong hand, gameplan, discipline-type stuff.”
He admitted frustration at letting the lead slip away late:
“I felt like we did enough to win in the beginning to the middle of the fourth. It started to unravel a little bit but there are clearly things that we can do better as a team to maintain that level that we have for certain parts of the game.”
The loss dropped Golden State to 9–9 overall and 5–1 at home, while Portland improved to 7–9, snapping a road losing streak at Chase Center that dated back to January 2021. The Blazers’ victory tightened Group C in the NBA Cup, while the Warriors were left to regroup and address their rebounding and defensive execution before their next contest.
