After four stops on the road to start the 2020-21 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors made their return to San Francisco’s Chase Center for their home opener against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Portland’s backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum quickly picked up the role of spoiler on New Year’s Day. The sharpshooting tandem combined for 62 points to lead the Trail Blazers to a blowout win at Chase Center, 123-98.
Golden State’s loose defense had no answer for Lillard as he scored his early-season high with 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field with eight assists, four rebounds and a steal. Lillard outdueled Steph Curry from beyond the arc, drilling six triples in comparison to Curry’s four.
Curry led the Warriors in scoring with 26 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field. The point guard added eight rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes.
Lillard wasn’t the only member of the Blazers to have success from long distance against Golden State. Portland made 20 3-pointers on 46.5% shooting from deep. While the Trail Blazers could miss from outside, the Warriors only recorded seven 3-pointers on 35 attempts.
Before the Blazers leave town, Lillard and McCollum will return to Chase Center for the second consecutive game on Sunday at least 5 p.m. PST.