LOS ANGELES — The defending champion Warriors mounted a remarkable comeback without Stephen Curry.
Next game, they might have him back and really get rolling.
Klay Thompson scored 27 points and gave Golden State its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer with 5:33 left, helping the Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 110-99 Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.
“It started with how focused we were in that fourth,” Thompson said. “We’ve been down and out before. ... We were just locked in on both sides of the ball. We can build on this game. That effort there in the fourth quarter is what it’s going to take to beat this team.”
It was tighter in Toronto, where Goran Dragic scored 26 points and Dwyane Wade had seven of his 24 in overtime after Kyle Lowry’s halfcourt shot tied it at the buzzer, helping the Miami Heat beat the Raptors 102-96 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Lowry’s improbable 3-pointer from his own side of the halfcourt line capped Toronto’s six-point comeback in the final 20 seconds of regulation, but the Raptors couldn’t deliver in the extra session. Toronto went scoreless for the first 3:46 of overtime before DeMar DeRozan hit a jumper.
Dunks by DeMarre Carroll and Jonas Valanciunas made it 99-96 with just over 10 seconds to play. Toronto got the ball back after a Miami turnover on the inbounds play, but Wade stripped the ball from DeRozan and sealed it with a three-point play.
The Raptors host the Heat again Thursday, and Warriors are in Portland Saturday.
Curry could be in uniform for that, if he has recovered from a sprain to his right knee.
In his absence Thompson and Draymond Green, who added 17 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots, helped Golden State to another win.
Thompson’s 3 with 6:44 remaining tied it, igniting the sellout crowd inside deafening Oracle Arena as the defending champions erased an early 17-point deficit.
“We hung in there,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We turned around what was a pretty bad game for us but we had enough time to get back.”
Damian Lillard’s 3 to beat the third-quarter buzzer put Portland ahead 87-76 entering the final 12 minutes — Golden State’s largest deficit going into the fourth all playoffs.
For most of the night, the energized Blazers did everything the Warriors typically do on their impenetrable home court: making the zippy pass, setting the tone on the defensive end, crashing the boards, answering any threat with a big basket.
“We played three really good quarters. We showed we can compete with them,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “It got away from us in the fourth quarter. It’s disappointing to lose a game you’re competitive and you’re in position to win in the fourth quarter. We’ve got to close it out. It was an opportunity to get a win on the road. We’ve got to learn from it.”
Lillard had 25 points and six assists, and CJ McCollum added 22 points as Portland hit 13 3-pointers. The Blazers were also down 2-0 in the first round to the Clippers.
