Lillard has triple-double, Blazers beat Warriors 125-122

PORTLAND,Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard had 33 points, 11 assists and 10rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers rallied past the GoldenState Warriors 125-122 on Wednesday night.

It was justthe second triple-double of Lillard’s career, and first thisseason.

“I didn’tshoot the ball very well. But I think I approached the game withthe same mentality, just to be aggressive, be in attack mode,”Lillard said. “Just tried to put pressure on the defense and whenthey react to just make the right play.”

Jordan Poolescored 38 for the Warriors, who played without injured guardStephen Curry. Klay Thompson added 31 points on his 33rd birthday,including seven 3-pointers.

The game wastied at 95 going into the final quarter and it was back and forththe rest of the way. After Poole’s 3-pointer got Golden Statewithin 108-107, Andrew Wiggins scored to put the Warriors infront.

TrendonWatford’s layup for the Blazers evened the game again at 114 with4:56 left before Jerami Grant’s three-point play gave Portland backthe lead. Grant added another layup with 1:54 left to make it119-114 while the Warriors struggled from the field.

Lillard addeda pair of free throws and Golden State couldn’t catch up. Grantfinished with 22 points.

Portland made31 of 32 foul shots, while the Warriors were 9 for 10 at theline.

“When it’s31-9 from the foul line, that’s a lot to overcome. You’ve got tomake a ton of 3s, which we did, and you’ve got to win the turnoverbattle, which we did,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “That’s whyit’s close. But to get over the hump you’ve got to make every shotit seems like. So we got out-boarded and they beat us up at thefoul line and I thought that was the difference in the game.”

The Warriorswere minus Curry for the second consecutive game because of a leftleg injury he sustained late in the third quarter of a victory overDallas on Saturday. Thompson stepped up in Curry’s absence with 42points and a season-high 12 3-pointers in Golden State’s 141-114win over Oklahoma City on Monday night.

Blazersforward Josh Hart was in the starting lineup but suddenly left thefloor during warmups and was replaced by Gary Payton II as reportssurfaced that Hart was traded to the New York Knicks for CamReddish and a protected first-round draft pick.

“That waskind of weird. We were warming up and he just shook my hand andwalked off the court,” Lillard said.

The Blazershad dropped two straight, including a 127-108 loss to Milwaukee onMonday night.

Portland ledby 11 in the first half but the Warriors were up 67-63 at the breakafter Poole made a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Golden State went on tolead most of the third quarter before Nassir Little’s 3 gave theBlazers a 93-91 lead late.

TIP-INS

Warriors:Golden State is 9-8 without Curry, who was previously sidelinedfrom Dec. 16 to Jan. 7 with a shoulder injury. ... Thompson grew upin Lake Oswego outside Portland and his dad, Mychal, played for theBlazers.

TrailBlazers: It was the second game of a five-game homestand. ...Shortly after he was traded, Hart posted two hearts — one orange,one blue, for the Knicks’ colors — on Twitter.

GP2′sIMPACT

Payton made adefensive difference off the bench last season for the Warriorswhen they won the NBA championship. Now he’s with the Blazers,lending those same skills.

“We know whathe’s capable of at both ends,” Kerr said. “Defensively he’s one ofthe best in the league and then offensively, he’s a great finisherand he can step out and make the 3 as well. So he’s an excellentplayer who helped us win a title last year. So we will always bethankful for Gary.”