Warriors trounce Trail Blazers

LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors play so well after they lose, it makes one wonder why they don’t do it more often. Actually, that is exactly why they don’t lose more often. The Warriors remained unbeaten in games following defeats Sunday, riding Stephen Curry’s game-high 39 points to a 136-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Playing for the first time since having their 54-game, home-court winning streak ended by the Boston Celtics Friday night, the Warriors (69-8) kept their record perfect in games following losses with an eighth straight win. “It’s really a true test of this team’s character,” Draymond Green said of his team’s ability to bounce back from defeat. “We take a loss, kind of get frustrated, mad, and then we’ll lock back in, which you have to do now and then.” The Warriors don’t just win their games following defeats, they tend to dominate them. Sunday’s 25-point triumph increased the average winning margin in the eight victories to 15 points. No team has ever finished a season without at least one set of consecutive losses. “We take pride in not having lost two in a row,” Curry said. “It hurt to lose last game and see that streak end, so we wanted to come back and take advantage of the opportunity we had tonight.” The win shrunk the Warriors’ magic number for clinching the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs to two. They moved 4-1/2 games ahead of the idle San Antonio Spurs (64-12). Curry connected on nine of the Warriors’ 18 3-pointers as the club ran its season total to 1,013. Golden State became the first NBA team to go over 1,000 in a single season. Celtics 107, Lakers 100: Isaiah Thomas scored 26 points and Jae Crowder added 22 more, leading the Boston Celtics to a 107-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Boston (45-32) clinched a playoff berth with the win. Bulls 102, Bucks 98: Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined for 58 points but Jimmy Butler hit two clutch buckets late to help the Chicago Bulls hold on for a 102-98 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center. Butler hit 9 of 10 shots from the field to finish with a team-high 25 for Chicago, which gained a half-game on Indiana in the race for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Pacers 92, Knicks 87: Paul George hit the tiebreaking basket with 23.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter as the Indiana Pacers squandered an 18-point lead before pulling out a 92-87 victory over the New York Knicks. The Pacers shot 4 of 16 in the fourth and their biggest hoop came in the final minute. After getting an inbounds pass from Monta Ellis, George gained enough separation from his defender and knocked down a 19-foot left-wing jumper in front of the New York bench. Magic 119, Grizzlies 107: Center Nikola Vucevic, now in a reserve role, scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in leading the Orlando Magic to a 119-107 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at the Amway Center. In other games it was: Jazz 101, Suns 86; Mavericks 88, Timberwolves 78; Rockets 118, Thunder 110; Clippers 114, Wizards 109; Cavaliers 112, Hornets 103; Pelicans 106, Nets 87. — Agencies