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Portland Trail Blazers (20-15) vs Golden State Warriors (23-13), Moda
Center
The Portland Trail Blazers will host the Golden State Warriors tonight at the Moda Center in Portland.
Both teams will be facing each other again tonight after the Blazers beat the Warriors on Wednesday.
The Warriors have not been themselves lately with back to back losses against the Lakers and the Blazers. They will be looking to find some winning momentum and most importantly, their old self, tonight.
The Blazers, on the other hand, have been up and down lately, and are in search of consistency. Beating the Warriors on Wednesday will be a significant boost for their confidence.
Let us see how things stand for both teams tonight.
The Portland Trail Blazers perspective
The Blazers will enter this match with a lot of confidence after Lillard's buzzer-beater gave them a historic win at the Oracle Arena.
Jusuf Nurkic dominated the paint for the Blazers as he finished with a team-high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. CJ McCollum had a decent outing with 24 points and four rebounds, while Damian Lillard knocked down the game-winning three and finished with 21 points and five assists.
Seth Curry deserves a mention as he has been consistently scoring essential points off the bench for them. He ended up with 11 points and three rebounds in the last game.
The team shot just 36% from the field, and knocked down 13 three-pointers out of the 40 attempted.
The Blazers have improved to 20-15 for the season and currently are at the fifth place in the Western Conference, just two below the defending champions. Every game is crucial if you are in the Western Conference, and Portland will need to be at their best tonight.
The Golden State Warriors perspective
The Golden State Warriors won only two of their last five games. They will be looking to avoid further damage, as they have dropped to third place in the Western Conference standings.
They lost to the same team they will be facing tonight, where Curry was the leading scorer for the team, with 29 points and seven assists. Kevin Durant had a triple-double with 26 points, 11 assists and ten rebounds. Also, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson scored 15 points apiece.
Both Klay and Green need to step up tonight offensively if they are to get back to winning ways.
As a team, their field goal percentage was just 42%, and they scored 13 three-pointers out of the 44 attempted.
The Warriors will try their best to get a road win.
Injury updates
Blazers: None
Warriors:
DeMarcus Cousins (Achilles)- OUT
Key Matchups
Jusuf Nurkic vs Draymond Green
Nurkic dominated the paint in the last game and will be itching to go at the Warriors again. It is only Draymond Green who can stop him from exploding like in the last game. It will be an exciting battle to watch.
Stephen Curry vs Damian Lillard
These two guards fighting it out on the court is always a delight to watch, and we can't wait for another encounter tonight.
How things might unfold
The Blazers will be full of confidence tonight, ready to upset the Warriors again.
The Warriors, on the other hand, are slumping at the moment, but we know how high-quality they are. They can't be kept quiet for a lot of time, and that is why I am favouring them tonight.
Prediction: Warriors to beat Blazers
