Warriors show signs of contender with vintage third quarter originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO — A missing ingredient to the Warriors’ past success showed up Tuesday night at Chase Center in their triumphant 123-105 comeback win over the Portland Trail Blazers that should be a reminder to themselves, while sending a message to the rest of the NBA.
After more than 60 games and months and months of waiting, the Third-Quarter Warriors returned in front of Dub Nation and put on a clinic to erase a 17-point halftime deficit. Every season is different, every team is different. Perhaps the biggest difference between these Warriors and those before them is the third quarter.
That’s where they used to feast. Not so much this season, until Tuesday night in front of a home crowd that went from silent to floor-rattling over the final 24 minutes.
Going into halftime, the Warriors had trailed by as many as 23 points. They fought and finished the first half strong. Then, the halftime message finally followed them out of the locker room.
“I just felt like the intensity picked up in the second half,” Steve Kerr said after the win. “The defense was much better. … I thought we did a much better job of executing defensively in the second half.”
Through the first two quarters, the Blazers couldn’t miss — thanks in part to clear lanes and wide-open 3-pointers. Portland shot 50 percent (22 of 44) overall and 42.1 percent (8 of 19) behind the 3-point line. On the other side, the Warriors were settling far too much, shooting 40 percent (18 of 45) from the field as they stared at the scoreboard with the Blazers up 65-48. Golden State shot 44.8 percent (13 of 29) on 2-pointers in the first half and 31.2 percent (5 of 16) from deep.
Continuing a season-long theme, the Warriors also committed six more turnovers — 11 to five — than the Blazers in the first half, and watched them attempt seven more free throws than them.
Still, Chauncey Billups wouldn’t let his squad get comfortable. He has seen this story unfold time and time again. When the Warriors lock in on both sides, even without Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II and Andre Iguodala, the defending champions are a terrifying unit that can put you on your heels and trample the opposition, just in rare cases this season.
“We knew they were going to make runs throughout the game,” Billups said. “We had a great start of the first half. We talked at halftime. I said, ‘You know they’re going to make a run, that’s what they do.
“Third quarters, it’s just what they do. Don’t react to it, but just stay calm, stay poised and we didn’t do a good job of that.”
But it hasn’t been what the Warriors have done this season. Entering Tuesday, the Warriors had been outscored in four straight third quarters. Thus far, they have been outscored in 32 third quarter, split even in one third quarter and have outscored their opponents in 29.
The mere thought of the Warriors being outplayed in the third quarter once was a joke, for a long, long time. In reality, the majority of their games have flipped the past and put the Warriors in a hole down the stretch. This time, they stuck to the plan and turned the volume to a deafening tone.
Over the final 24 minutes, the Warriors outscored the Blazers 75-40 in the second. Portland put up 41 points alone in the first quarter. The third quarter, though, was pure bliss and bled into the fourth. The Warriors shot 65.2 percent (15 of 23) from the field in the third, and 42.9 percent (3 of 7) on threes. They handed out 11 assists to only three turnovers, grabbed 13 rebounds and were called for only two fouls.
The Blazers were held to 29.2 percent shooting (7 of 24) and 10 percent (1 of 10) from beyond the arc. They had five turnovers, were called for six fouls and snatched five fewer rebounds than the Warriors in the third.
“When we get stops and not play against a set defense every time, totally different team,” Draymond Green said.
Green returned from a two-game absence because of a right knee contusion and was fantastic, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks on his way to being a plus-26 in plus/minus. He led a defense that held Damian Lillard to six points in the second half, after scoring 19 in the first half and 15 in the first quarter alone.
Offensively, while Klay Thompson came on strong in the second half, this win can serve as film Jordan Poole can have on repeat. Poole led the Warriors with 29 points to go with six assists and five rebounds, ending as a plus-25. But it was about how Poole racked up his points.
He was 3 of 10 on threes, with some good shot choices and some that could use some explanation. Poole was 7-of-14 shooting on 2-pointers, and his lightning-quick first step helped him get to the line. The scoring guard made all five of his free throws in the first half and wound up making six of seven overall from the line.
“I was telling him, when he got the switch on Lillard, just go at him and make him work,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “He is either going to foul you, or he can’t guard you. There are very few people that are our size that can guard you. So when he is getting downhill and not bailing him out with step-backs, I think that unlocks him feeling good, that unlocks him making the right play every single time. There were six or seven possessions where he made the right play every single time when we made that run. That is what we need him to do, but we also need him to be himself.
“When he is himself, when he is getting those step-backs, getting to kind of free-wheel ball handling, that is when he’s at his best and we are at our best. It’s a balance, always a balance, but he’s doing an amazing job at that.”
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Poole’s 29 points gave him his first 20-plus game since the All-Star break, and his plus/minus was tied for his third-highest this season. And it came with some grit.
A flying Matisse Thybulle falling into the Warriors’ bench had Poole limping to the locker room in the first quarter, and returning shortly after that. Green was forced to leave for a bit after holding his left wrist and heading to the locker room in the second quarter. DiVincenzo early on was covering his right shoulder and trying to loosen it up on his way to scoring 21 points and making five 3-pointers.
What started as an ugly nightmare was a picturesque comeback win, fueled by finding an extra gear on both sides of the ball. That has been missed much of the time this season, especially in what was once their comfort zone — the third quarter.
The Warriors’ 22-point third-quarter advantage sprung the Warriors to fifth place in the Western Conference at the end of the night. They’ll have to continue riding the wave, and with reinforcements on the way, the Warriors are showing signs of a contender that once seemed long gone.
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