Thursday night's game between the Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers was an exquisite display of ugly basketball. Turnovers, tragically wayward shots, the sort of bumbling, stumbling failures to rebound that bely a brutal game. But the Warriors pulled through in a game that keeps their hopes alive of needing just a single play-in win.
Here are three takeaways from the 100-92 win with major play-in ramifications.
Brutal basketball, but the bigs provide
Every single element of the game was disjointed. Much of that has to be owed to the fact that the Blazers played excellent defense, and without Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, the Warriors looked... confused.
Portland, without Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, Malcolm Brogdon, Shaedon Sharpe and Robert Williams III, was playing like this was its championship. They were relentless defensively, and the Warriors got lazy, doing that thing where they sent the ball flying all over the court.
Two things kept this game close: the Warriors' turnovers (of which they had 16), and the Blazers' second-chance points. Portland out-scored the Warriors 28-15 in second-chance points.
It was an exhausting contest with 15 lead changes. The Warriors were desperate for help inside against a Blazers team that only had size and athleticism to use against them. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kevon Looney provided that effort.
Jackson-Davis had 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a season-high 4 blocks. Looney, meanwhile, was magnificent off the bench, coming up with 9 points, 11 rebounds, a couple steals and 4 blocks of his own.
Looney stayed in during the final stretch and was magnificent. He screened and set up most of Curry's fourth-quarter scores, got involved himself, and was huge defensively.
The Steph abides (and so does Looney)
Steve Kerr is often reluctant to inject Stephen Curry too early in the fourth quarter. He did not hesitate at the start of the fourth.
With Golden State down just three points and 10:37 remaining in the fourth, Kerr put Curry in the game. The Warriors' offense had come to a screeching halt. Even with the Blazers throwing a gauntlet at Curry, hounding him at every turn, and Curry struggling to score, he was still the best option.
And man, did he abide. After being down as much as six, the Warriors went on an 18-3 run in the fourth quarter. It was just about all Curry (and Looney), who finished with 22 points (8-of-22, 5-of-16 from 3-pt), 7 rebounds, 8 assists, a steal and a couple blocks.
He had eight of those points, and assisted Looney twice. Looney also had a free throw in that time, and stuffed Jabari Walker at the rim. He proceeded to just about ice the game on the next Blazers possession, by getting a steal out of a timeout. Curry took it the other way and set up Brandin Podziemski for an and-one.
A couple possessions later, Chris Paul sealed it with a 3-point dagger.
It was almost all Curry and Looney in those final minutes, and it has allowed the Warriors to keep their play-in dream another day. Curry is going to be tired from this game. He'll need Thompson and Green back against New Orleans.
The play-in situation
For any of the play-in scenarios to matter, the Warriors had to beat the Blazers. All of the scoreboard watching would be moot and send them likely tumbling to the 10th seed if they couldn't get out of Portland with a win.
But the Warriors managed that win, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Sacramento Kings.
What that means is that the Warriors have to win out against the Pelicans and Utah Jazz to guarantee at least the ninth seed. The Lakers will play the Pelicans on the final day of the season, and can secure the sixth seed (avoiding the play-in tournament) with two wins.
As it stands, the Warriors are 45-34, and in the ninth spot, with a record they share with the Lakers and Kings. Golden State has the tiebreaker over the Lakers, but not the Kings.
Here's the situation. The Kings face the Suns Friday night. Both the Suns and Pelicans are fighting for their lives to avoid the play-in entirely.
On Friday, if the Warriors beat the Pelicans, and the Kings lose to the Suns, the Warriors would clinch the eighth seed with a win on Sunday against Utah. The Suns, meanwhile, face the Kings, then the Timberwolves on the final day of the season. If the Suns don't beat the Kings, the Warriors would have to hope for a Kings loss to the Blazers on the final day to clinch the eighth seed.
All of these teams are good. They all have a lot to play for. Friday is going to be a grueler.
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