No team has beaten the Golden State Warriors at the Oracle Arena this year, nor has a team that has bested them managed to do it again. The Portland Tail Blazers had the chance to do both Friday night, but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were too much.
On their own, the Splash Bros. combined for 71 points and shot 58 percent from the floor, including 15 three pointers in 25 attempts. As has been the case for many of the Warriors' 58 wins, Draymond Green filled the stat sheet with 17 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
The Warriors showed their true strength when forward Andre Iguodala left the game with a sprained left ankle. Warriors coach Steve Kerr previously stated that he would prioritize resting players over reaching 73 wins, and sitting Iguodala was his first chance to make good on that.
"That was a no-brainer for us," Kerr said after the game. "He could have played, but he didn't."
Iguodala had eight points, two rebounds and two assists in about 15 minutes. While he knew that he had a good feeling about his game Friday night, Iguodala said that he knew he had to sit out.
"It's going to swell up," Iguodala said. "A couple of days. [Then] hopefully, right back. But who knows?
"I was in a good groove."
Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard exploded for 51 points when his team routed the Warriors in Portland to kick off the season's second half. But Friday night in Oakland, Lillard only managed 17 points on a 26 percent shooting effort.
Being an Oakland native, Lillard would have loved nothing more than to make headlines as the first team to beat the Warriors at the Oracle this year, but he felt the love from his hometown, nonetheless. Kerr said that the city was "proud" of him and that he respected him.
"Honestly, I really appreciate it," Lillard said of Kerr's praise before the game. "I forget who I said it to earlier this week, I loved Steve Kerr growing up with Bulls and with the Spurs. My second All-Star game in New York, he was the coach. I really appreciated his speech to the team before the game, how he took the time to learn about each player."
