OAKLAND – Damian Lillard’s last regular-season game at Oracle Arena ended as he would have dreamt, with the Oakland native and his Portland Trail Blazers celebrating while the heartbroken Warriors skulked away in defeat.
Lillard’s fallaway 3-pointer in the final seconds of overtime sent the Blazers to a 110-109 victory that left the Warriors reeling in ways they haven’t since Steve Kerr took over as coach in 2014.
The Warriors (23-13) have lost two straight at home and, moreover, destroyed their belief that a home-friendly schedule in December would bring out their best.
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SIGN UP HERE Here are some positives and negatives culled from the loss:
NEGATIVE
The inconsistent energy
Coming off a blowout loss to the Lakers, it was expected that the Warriors would respond with a vengeance, particularly on defense. Instead, they wandered about as Portland made seven of its first nine shots, taking an eight-point lead barely four minutes into the game. The Warriors turned it up several times, most notably late in regulation. The Blazers shot only 36.2 percent from the field, but they missed a ton of open looks. The Warriors could have been more assertive on offense.
The search for the 48-minute run continues to be elusive. They played with full force for maybe 15 minutes out of 53. It almost was enough. Almost.
POSITIVE
Durant’s triple-double
Kevin Durant posted his second triple-double of the season, finishing with 26 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Most impressive were the assists, smart passes at appropriate times, often spoon-feeding non-scorers like Kevon Looney.
Durant has led or tied for the team lead in assists 16 times this season, including three of the last four games. Good things often happen when the ball is in his hands.
NEGATIVE
Thompson’s slump continues, and it hurts
If ever the conditions were right for Klay Thompson to find his shot, it was against this team, in this arena. Didn’t happen. For the third consecutive game, he made less than one-third of his shots. He was 6-of-19 overall, and 2-of-9 from beyond the arc, finishing with 15 points. He missed two wide-open 3s on a single possession, and neither was particularly close. It was another night of futility, this one at home, against the softest 3-point defense in the NBA.
The Warriors can win without Thompson scoring 25 points a night. It’s considerably tougher, though, when possessions go empty because he’s off target.
[RELATED: Klay responds emphatically about his shooting slump]
POSITIVE
Thompson’s defense continues, and it helps
Portland’s dangerous guards, CJ McCollum and Lillard, shot a combined 14-of-42 (33.3 percent) from the field. They were 2-of-14 in the third and fourth quarters. Nobody was more responsible for those numbers than Thompson. One of his three steals was off a Lillard pass in the final three minutes, resulting in a 5-point swing during a 16-6, game-tying Warriors run. Thompson’s D was the crucial factor in him finishing plus-5 despite poor shooting.
When Thompson locks in on an opponent, he rarely gets burned. On this night, he did not allow his atrocious shooting to affect his defense.
NEGATIVE
Oh, those free throws
Nothing was more shocking than seeing the Warriors miss nine of their first 10 free throws. Curry and Durant, both shooting higher than 90 percent from the line, combined to shoot 3-of-7. Klay Thompson, shooting higher than 80 percent, was 1-of-4. They finished 6-of-15, which led Curry to vow that it won’t happen again.
It won’t. The Warriors are No. 2 in free throw accuracy. But they shot 40 percent in a game they lost in overtime. It cost them.