LOS ANGELES: Draymond Green exploded for a seventh career playoff triple-double Saturday as the Golden State Warriors rallied for a 110-99 victory over the Trail Blazers in Portland and a 3-0 lead in the NBA Western Conference finals.
The two-time defending champion Warriors trailed by as many as 18 in the second quarter, but with Green driving them they produced another dominant third period to seize control of the contest and the series.
No team has come back from an 0-3 deficit to win an NBA playoff series. The Trail Blazers will try to fend off elimination when they host game four on Monday.
Green scored 20 points with 13 rebounds and 12 assists, keeping the Warriors afloat in the first half before superstar Stephen Curry came alive with 21 of his 36 points after the interval.
“There aren’t many guys in the game that can (affect both ends of the floor),” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Green beforehand. “Draymond can do both.”
His intensity was on display on both ends of the court, and on the sidelines as he exhorted teammates to keep pushing.
Klay Thompson added 19 points for the Warriors, who were again without injured star Kevin Durant.
“All my teammates, my coaches have been telling me, ‘Draymond, get to the hole, be aggressive,’” Green said of his mindset.
“We’ve got guys out there, Steph, Klay and those guys who draw a lot of attention, so it’s on me to do my job and come through for those guys.”
CJ McCollum led Portland with 23 points. Damian Lillard, relentlessly double-teamed by the Warriors, added 19 points.
Center Meyers Leonard, making just his third start of the season, finished with 16 points.
Leonard made the most of his opportunity early, connecting on five of seven shots from the field in the first half on the way to 13 points.
The Trail Blazers, energized in front of a rowdy home crowd at the Moda Center, quickly built a 10-point lead before the Warriors trimmed it to two — 29-27 — at the end of the first quarter.
But the Blazers kept the pressure on, stretching the lead to 18 in the second quarter.
A steal by Lillard produced a thunderous dunk from Leonard, then Portland’s Seth Curry stole the ball from his superstar brother Stephen and raced for a three-pointer that made it 60-42 with 2:28 remaining in the first half.
Portland took a 66-53 lead into the locker room, but the Warriors responded with a monster third quarter, using a 22-6 scoring run to take their first lead of the game, 77-76 on a layup by Kevin Looney — assisted by Green.
Golden State out-scored Portland 29-13 in the quarter to lead by three heading into the final frame.
The Warriors pushed the lead to 11 with 4:51 remaining and the Trail Blazers wouldn’t get the deficit below eight from there.
Green triple-double fuels Warriors’ comeback win
Green triple-double fuels Warriors’ comeback win
- The Golden State Warriors rallied for a 110-99 victory over the Trail Blazers in Portland
- The two-time defending champion Warriors trailed by as many as 18 in the second quarter
Bayern beat Cologne 3-1 to set Bundesliga record at halfway mark
- Bayern came from a goal down to earn their sixth league win in the last seven matches
- The Bavarians have clear water between themselves and Borussia Dortmund in 2nd place on 36 points
COLOGNE, Germany: Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich battled past hosts Cologne 3-1 on Wednesday to record the best first half of a season in the league’s history and maintain their 11-point lead at the top of the standings.
Bayern came from a goal down to earn their sixth league win in the last seven matches, and moved up to 47 points with a goal difference of +53. The previous best mark after 17 matches belonged to Pep Guardiola’s Bayern from the 2013/14 season, also with 47 points but a goal difference of +35.
The Bavarians, who host Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League next week, have clear water between themselves and Borussia Dortmund in second place on 36 points.
Cologne did not look at all intimidated by Bayern’s 8-1 demolition of VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday, and took a fully deserved 41st-minute lead with Linton Maina’s spectacular 60-meter solo run and superb finish to beat keeper Manuel Neuer.
The visitors managed to level before the break when Serge Gnabry flicked the ball into the net off the crossbar from the tightest of angles in first-half stoppage time.
Jakub Kaminski had the hosts’ best chance to score again with a low 58th-minute drive, but Neuer did well to push the ball wide in a crowded box.
The hosts managed to keep Bayern away from their box for much of the second half but could do nothing when Hiroki Ito headed on a deep cross and Kim Min-jae nodded in for a 2-1 lead.
Teenager Lennart Karl made sure of the three points in the 84th minute when he slotted in from a Luis Diaz assist.
