PORTLAND — After months of trying to tap into the essence of a dynasty, the Warriors on Wednesday finally seemed to channel what made those teams great: Ball movement, 3-point shooting and a defense that gained strength as the game went on.
The Warriors lost to the Trail Blazers, 122-112, at Moda Center in Portland on Wednesday, but finally resembled something close to those teams that went to five straight NBA Finals. The difference on Wednesday was that they did not have the elite talent needed to win the game.
Entering the fourth quarter trailing 97-92, the Warriors could only muster 20 points to close the game while Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum scored 10 of Portland’s 25 points in the final period to usher his team to a win.