Coles, Warriors Stomp Blazers
Bimbo Coles and John Starks took over in the fourth quarter and helped Golden State beat the team with the NBA's best record.
The guards combined for 20 points in the final period as the Warriors rallied to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 93-90 Tuesday night.
"This is a really significant win for us, especially if we can build on it," said coach P.J. Carlesimo. "Bimbo and John really stepped up for us when we needed it."
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Coles finished with 24 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Starks scored 16 points, including nine in the final period.
"I just got into the flow of the game," Coles said.
Although Portland has a league-best 23-6 record, two of the losses have come at Golden State. The Warriors beat the Blazers 105-100 in double overtime on Feb. 14.
"Obviously, we didn't learn from our first experience here," said Portland guard Greg Anthony. "It's not rocket science. They were just the most aggressive team. They outworked us."
Coles and Starks scored all the Warriors' points in a 15-6 run that turned a 71-63 deficit into a 78-77 lead with 3:20 left. Coles scored nine points during the stretch and Starks had six on a pair of 3-pointers.
Coles hit a driving shot with 52 seconds left to give Golden State an 84-81 lead, and Starks sank another 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining to make it 87-83.
After four free throws by Coles helped the Warriors take a 91-87 lead, Portland's Rasheed Wallace hit a 3-pointer to cut the margin to one.
However, Golden State's Chris Mills hit one of two foul shots with 7 seconds left, and Coles hit one with 4 seconds left to clinch the victory.
Donyell Marshall had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Golden State.
"We may well end up playing Portland in the playoffs, so this was a big win," Marshall said. "It as important to show Portland that we can battle them evenly."
Portland's Arvydas Sabonis scored 21 points, including 11-of-14 from the foul line. Brian Grant added 14 points for the Blazers.
Portland used a 9-2 run to take a 44-30 lead, but Golden State rallied and cut the deficit to 46-43 at halftime.
The Warriors took a 56-53 lead in the third quarter on a corner jumper by Coles and a driving basket by Jason Caffey. But the Blazers Portland regained the lead at 58-57 on a foul shot by Rider and led 64-61 at the end of the quarter.
Notes: The Blazers did not commit a foul in the second period and committed only two in the first half. ... Portland has a 14-3 record in March, the best March in franchise history. ... Golden State's Terry Cummings has scored 19,082 points in his career, 31st on the all-time list. He needs 99 points to catch Gail Goodrich. ... Warriors center Erick Dampier is the only NBA player to have 10 offensive rebounds in a game twice this season.
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