Curry sits again, but Warriors rally to defeat Trail Blazers 110-99

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry sat out once more while recuperating from a right knee injury, but the Golden State Warriors again showed their depth of talent by rallying for a 11099 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Western Conference semifinal action.

The topseeded Warriors were down 11 points at the start of the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s game at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, but they rallied by ratcheting up the defensive intensity and holding the visitors to just a dozen points over the final 12 minutes.

Star shooting guard Klay Thompson tallied 27 points to lead all scorers, while doitall forward Draymond Green scored 17 points, grabbed a gamehigh 14 rebounds and dished out seven assists.

Center Festus Ezeli also was a major factor for the Warriors on defense in the fourth quarter, when Golden State outscored Portland 3412, providing badly needed rim protection down the stretch and finishing with eight points and six rebounds in just under 13 minutes of action.

The fifthseeded Blazers were led by their sharpshooting guard tandem of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, who scored 25 points and 22 points, respectively.

The bestofseven Conference Semifinal series, which the defending NBA champions now lead 20 after winning a pair of contests at home, shifts to Portland for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday.

Curry, who has played just two halves of basketball since the playoffs started due to an ankle injury suffered in Game 1 of the Warriors’ firstround series against the Rockets and a Grade 1 MCL strain in his right knee that he sustained in Game 4, could be back in action on Saturday.

In one other contest on Tuesday night, the Miami Heat seized homecourt advantage from the Toronto Raptors with a 10296 Game 1 victory at the Air Canada Centre.