----- Kevin Durant scores 28 points as the Golden State Warriors defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 111-104 Monday night at Oracle Arena.
The Golden State Warriors once again showed why they have one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the NBA on Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. Playing without both Steph Curry and Draymond Green, the Warriors had six players score in double figures as they sent the Blazers to their fifth-straight loss with a 111-104 win Monday night in Oakland.
Golden State (22-6) got 28 points and nine rebounds from Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson added 24 points and three assists. Warriors rookie, Jordan Bell got the start at power forward in place of Green. The former Oregon Duck scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting and pulled down six rebounds.
The Warriors shot 55% from the field and dished out 26 assists on 44 made field goals. The Warriors opened up a double-digit lead on the strength of a 33-19 advantage in the second quarter and pushed their lead to as much as 24 points in the third quarter.
The Blazers continued to battle cutting the Warriors lead to eight points at 101-93 thanks to an 18-8 run to start the fourth quarter, but that was as close as they would come until a meaningless layup at the end of the game by Pat Connaughton.
Portland (13-13) got a game-high 39 points from Damian Lillard and 21 points from CJ McCollum. Rookie Zach Collins played 25 minutes and finished with nine points and seven rebounds. The Blazers shot just 42% from the field including just 7-for-28 from downtown.
For the Blazers, Jusuf Nurkic (right ankle) and Maurice Harkless (left quad) did not play in the game.
Next up- The Blazers travel to Miami to face the Heat on Wednesday. Game is scheduled to tip off at 4:30 PM.
Chad's take- At some point, the Blazers are going to need someone not named Lillard or McCollum to step up and make some shots.