Game Thread Game #26 - BLAZERS @ GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS - DECEMBER 8, 2021 - WEDNESDAY - 7:00 PM (PDT) ESPN

TEAM NOTABLES:

• With tonight’s win, Golden State clinched its three-game regular season series vs. Portland… Golden State has won 12 of its last 14 home games vs. Portland… The Warriors face the Trail Blazers for the third and final time this season on February 24 in Portland.
• Golden State’s record of 21-4 marks its best start since the 2016-17 season when they began the season 27-4… They improved to a league-best 14-2 at home and own the NBA’s best overall record.
• The Warriors extended their streak of holding opponents under 50.0% shooting from the field to 27-straight games dating back to last season (40.7% tonight)… The Warriors are the only team to not allow an opponent shoot 50 percent-or-better from the field this season.
• Golden State made a season-low 39.8% of their shots from the field (prev. 41.9% on 11/30 at PHX)… Prior to tonight, the last time the Warriors made fewer than 40.0% of their shots from the field and won was on Nov. 6, 2017 vs. Miami (36.8%, 97-80).
• For the third time this season the Warriors posted a wire-to-wire victory (no ties or lead changes).
• Golden State recorded more steals than Portland, nine to five, improving to 16-0 this season when recording more steals than its opponent.
• The Warriors recorded a season-low-tying 22 assists (11/19 at DET).
• Golden State’s 33 field goals marked a new season low (prev. 36 on 11/30 at PHX).
• Golden State held its opponent to 99-or-fewer points for a league-high 12th time this season (eighth time at home) and are undefeated in those games... The Warriors are holding their opponent to 100.3 points per game, a league-leading mark.
• The Warriors have only been outrebounded in five games this season, grabbing 47 to the Trail Blazers’ 43 tonight… Golden State improved to 15-2 in games it outrebounds its opponent.
• Chase Center (18,064) sold out for the 393rd consecutive game.
• Up Next: The Warriors begin a five-game road trip (tied for the longest this season) by traveling to Philadelphia to face the 76ers on Saturday, December 11 (5:30 p.m. PT).

PLAYER NOTABLES:

• Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 22 points and made six of his 17 3-point attempts, marking an NBA-best 13th time this season he has made six-or-more threes in a game (Kelly Oubre Jr. ranks second with five-such games)… Curry (2,964 career 3-pointers) trails Ray Allen (2,973) by nine for the NBA’s all-time 3-point record.
• Jordan Poole scored 20 points, reaching the 20-point plateau for the ninth time this season.
• Otto Porter Jr. led all reserves with 15 points… It’s the eighth time this season he has scored in double figures… He made four of six shots from beyond-the-arc, one shy of his season high of five threes (done twice).
• Draymond Green recorded his sixth games this season with 10-or-more rebounds.
• Kevon Looney scored 11 points, one shy of his season-high, marking his third double-figure scoring game on the season.

 

WARRIORS HEAD COACH STEVE KERR


ON IF HE THINKS STEPHEN CURRY WAS THINKING ABOUT THE RECORD TONIGHT:

“No, I thought Steph took a couple of quick ones early that maybe he was trying to get himself going. I thought we actually played a great first half. The ball just wasn’t going in, but it was moving, we were getting really good looks, but when the ball doesn’t go in it’s hard to get momentum and hard to get the crowd into it. It felt like, at that point, let’s grind it out and win the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t give our fans to much to get thrilled about, but it’s good to be in this position where we are still winning games if we are not playing our best.”


ON THEIR DEFENSE IN THE FIRST HALF KEEPING THEM IN THE GAME:

“Yeah, the defense was good. Obviously, Portland was without their backcourt and the guys who make that team go, but they were competing really hard. They were coming downhill at us, but I thought our defense was really good other than the free throws. We gave up 15 free throws in the first half and 10 of them to (Nassir) Little. I thought all in all, I thought our defense was good.”


ON PLAYING PORTLAND WITH OUT CJ MCCOLLUM AND DAMIAN LILLARD:

“It’s been a long time. We’ve played Portland so many times over the years, obviously being in the same conference, but also playing in the playoffs. You just get used to seeing CJ and Dame on the other side of the floor. It was strange to play Portland without those guys.”


ON IF HE TALKED TO STEPHEN CURRY BEFORE OR AFTER THE GAME ABOUT THE RECORD:

“I didn’t talk to him before the game. To make that many threes in one game, obviously, it’s never been done before. It was just a routine night. He made six, which is nothing to him. I don’t think I ever did that in my entire career, never once. It was just a ho-hum game, but a win and we are happy with that.”


ON GETTING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE BENCH TO GET THE WIN TONIGHT:

“Yeah, we have a very flexible team and a deep roster. We have a lot of guys that are versatile and that gives us a lot of versatility lineup-wise, so we can adapt game-to-game based on what we need to win the game. Love coaching these guys. They are competitors, enjoy playing together, and have been totally selfless during this start. It’s a really good team, we are having a great season and a lot of fun. We just have to keep trying to get better.”


ON MOSES MOODY’S 37 POINTS TONIGHT FOR THE SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS:

“Well, he’s a great shooter and he’s shown that in our practices. We know about his shooting touch. I’m thrilled that he and JK (Jonathan Kuminga) are playing and getting good reps and good minutes in Santa Cruz. That’s exactly what they need right now. There’s a reason they were both lottery picks, they are both very talented players.”

 

TRAIL BLAZERS HEAD COACH CHAUNCEY BILLUPS


ON THE TEAM’S MENTALITY HEADING INTO TONIGHT’S GAME:

“We didn’t change much from a game plan perspective. We know what’s at stake, obviously we know it's inevitable here at some point soon he's going to get that record. We didn’t take pride in it not being on us, 16 is a lot of threes to make in a game. We’ve seen a lot of heroic nights by him, we know that he can do it. He got off and was hunting the 3-ball, he shot 12 in the first half. I just thought as a team we played hard, we played together, we played really hard. I'm proud of our effort, it's something that we just have to make a constant as our squad. As we start to get back healthy, and healthier, playing with that type of urgency is going to be good for us.”


ON THEIR EFFORT IN RECENT GAMES:

“Well I just think the guys are focused on competing first and foremost. Obviously when you're shorthanded you have to make up for it in certain areas. The guys that have been playing they're just scrapping, they're just scrapping, but that’s what we have to be about, period. Like I said even when we get healthy I like our chances against anyone when we play that hard with the talent that we have on our roster. That just has to be every single night, who we are as a team and what we’re trying to build.”


ON MAINTAINING THEIR EFFORT WHEN INJURED GUYS COME BACK:

“Well feel like we’ve done it several times, seen it the right way a ton, we really have. Then we’ve had nights where we’ve been disappointed coming up to this microphone. So that is what we have to get to. As you know, I'm going to find it one way or the other, whoever I have to put out there to make it work.”

 

WARRIORS GUARD JORDAN POOLE


ON THE IMPORTANCE OF WINNING SCRAPPY GAMES:

“I think it does a really good job for our team for games down the line. We go on the road for a week and a couple of their players are out. So just finding ways to stay locked in for the full 48. Then just staying locked in essentially is what it is. They're a good team and we had a slow start but as we continued to execute throughout the rest of the game we just started to kind of gain momentum and got it going.”


ON THE CROWD’S ENERGY WITH STEPHEN CURRY CLOSE TO PASSING RAY ALLEN:

“I think the crowd just does a really good job in general. Obviously Steph is an electric player and we want to get him going as much as possible. He's going to continue to play his game and shoot the shots that he shoots. It's coming up soon and everybody knows it but we’re going to continue to play our game, and that’s pretty much it.”


ON OTTO PORTER JR. TONIGHT:

“I think what’s really good about our team is we have so many shooters and people who can space the floor. Being able to have Otto come in and be as consistent of a shooter as he is huge and helpful for our team. But we also have D-Lee (Damion Lee) and Belli (Nemanja Bjelica), and Wiggs (Andrew Wiggins), and Steph (Curry), and Klay’s (Thompson) coming back, a lot of shooters. There’s going to be very rare that everybody’s off and I think that’s something that’s really good for our team and we just got to find ways to work around it.”


ON WHAT PLAYING IN THE G LEAGUE CAN DO FOR A YOUNG PLAYER:

“I mean it's huge. Just being able to play your game. I mean I'm more so proud that he (Moses Moody) took 28 shots, I’ve never taken 28 shots before, a lot of people haven’t take 28 shots. But that’s huge, he's down there and he's being aggressive. He's taking the shots that he practices, and same thing with JK (Jonathan Kuminga) I want to say he had 25 (points). So being able to have those guys go and just take care of business individually, as a team find ways to get better and learn, it's huge, it's huge. They're going to continue to get better, they're getting live reps, a lot of touches. Shout out Moses, shoutout JK. We can't wait to have them back (with Golden State for the road trip).”

 

WARRIORS FORWARD OTTO PORTER JR.


ON THE VIBE AROUND THE TEAM AS STEPHEN CURRY GETS CLOSER TO THE RECORD:

“No. The vibe is still good. We are still playing high level basketball every night we are trying to figure out how to get a win playing Warriors basketball. We are trying to get Steph good looks, cutting off of him. He is playmaking whether it’s on or off the ball. We are just trying to keep moving. He is going to continue to be a decoy, setting screens and getting everybody else open.”


ON THE DEPTH OF THE TEAM AND WHO IS ABLE TO GET HOT DURING THE GAME:

“Yes. We have a lot of guys that can get hot at any moment of the game on any given night. Whoever has it going, we try to get them good looks but as a team, we try to rely on our defense to get us good looks. We get stops, we get rebounds, we can push out and get easy looks, get to the rim, get fouled. Every night and every game is different and anybody can step up and knock down shots.”


ON THE WAY HIS BODY FEELS NOW COMPARED TO THE FIRST FEW WEEKS OF THE SEASON:

“I am still getting my legs, continuing to work with the trainers, doctors making sure that the legs are fresh. Continue to do our prevention work after the games. Just continue to stay on top of it. I don’t want it to slip up.”


ON WHETHER HE USUALLY BEGAN TO FEEL BETTER AS THE SEASON GOES ON:

“Yes. It is still early. It normally warms up halfway through, midseason form. That is what everyone calls it. Still right around the corner. We still have a lot of games to play, I am going to try to take it one game at a time.”


ON HIS CHEMISTRY WITH WARRIORS FORWARD NEMANJA BJELICA:

“Every game it is getting better and better, he is a smart player. He takes what the defense gives him. Those plays the defense was just -- he was able to get to the paint. The defense just collapsed and he was able to find the open guy. A couple of times it was me. A couple of times it was D Lee (Damion Lee). Wiggs (Andrew Wiggins) on the backside. We just preach that we get the ball to the open man.”


ON WHETHER HIS PREGAME ROUTINE HELPS HIM GET HIS LEGS PREPARED FOR GAMES:

“Absolutely. It just activates my core. Gets me game ready, making sure that I am using my core more than anything.”


ON HOW IT FEELS TO WIN AT THEIR CURRENT PACE:

“I am just along for the ride like you are. It is amazing but we know what we are capable of, and it is just a matter of us coming out and doing it every night. Taking one game at a time. Whoever is out there we have to focus on Warriors basketball.”

 

TRAIL BLAZERS FORWARD NASSIR LITTLE


ON THE GAME:

“I mean I think you know they did get some open shots that they just didn't convert on but I think for the most part our effort was just there from start to finish and I think like that has been the biggest thing with us just being consistent and playing hard for long spurts and I think starting to see that coming to fruition like where we are starting to gain playing aggressively and finishing the game the same way so I have been super proud of the way we have been scrapping, so hopefully we keep that going.”


ON HEAD COACH CHAUNCEY BILLUPS’ COACHING STYLE:

“I mean this is just everything you guys say or hear is nothing he doesn't say to us personally so, it's not a matter of him saying something to the media and not coming at us with the same type of tone, you know what I am saying. He says it to us before he says it to you guys I mean so it's no surprise and that was the thing when he got here, he holds us accountable and tells us the truth and he is going to tell us what it is he does the same to you guys.”


ON TEAM'S CHEMISTRY:

“I mean obviously losing is frustrating man, mean it’s tough but I think we have done a good job of sticking together even though we have been losing these last couple of games you know you guys mentioned it we are playing harder, you know what I’m saying playing the right way we just coming up short in the end and its going to be little minor things that we have to tweek to pull these types of games out but I think we have been proud of how hard we have been playing man and you know considering the circumstances with Damian out (Damian Lillard), CJ (CJ McCollum), Ant (Anfernee Simons), I was out, Cody (Zeller) was out, you know what I am saying like all the things we have been going thru I think that we have been handling our adversity the best way that we can so I think that’s something that we can keep our heads up about for sure.”