PORTLAND, Ore. -- When the Golden State Warriors lose, it tends to be when you’d least expect it. Before Friday night’s 137-105 obliteration at the hands of the jubilant Portland Trail Blazers, the Warriors had previously lost to Detroit, Denver, Dallas and Milwaukee. Golden State’s five losses have come from teams a combined 19 games under .500.
On Friday, Damian Lillard’s 51-point, 31-minute opus not only put his All-Star snub in stark relief, but served as an emphatic reminder of why the Warriors, for all their winning, can’t get too comfortable.
That might sound too cautionary for a team with five losses in late February, but consider this: Golden State will play two games in San Antonio, both on the second night of a back-to-back.