With a 125-121 win in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal on Wednesday night, the defending-champion Golden State Warriors proved to be too much for Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and the rest of the Portland Trail Blazers, closing the lid on a series that was much closer than the 4-1 edge would indicate.
The Blazers — who were counted out before the season began after losing four of five starters from last season — stuck to their season-long narrative by not going down without a fight. With 12 lead changes and nine ties over the course of the game, they pestered Golden Sate up until the final buzzer behind 16 fourth-quarter points from McCollum and a handful of clutch shots down the stretch.
But on the night of Stephen Curry's unanimously-won MVP ceremony, the Warriors had no plans to lose this game.
"We really needed that energy from the home crowd to just find a way to have some huge offensive possessions and get some stops down the stretch," Curry said.
The Blazers' late-game heroics brought them within two points with under 30 seconds to play. Then the two-time MVP took matters into his own hands by knocking down a three-point dagger and two pairs of free throws, finally putting the game out of reach.
Klay Thompson led all scorers with 33 points on 13-for-17 shooting from the field and 6-for-9 from three-point range. Curry closely trailed with 29 points on 10-for-20 from the field and 5-for-11 from beyond the arc to go along with 11 assists.
"We know what it takes to win in the playoffs," Thompson said. "That might be the closest five-game series of all-time."
"Klay's shooting was incredible tonight," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Then the way Steph finished the game, that step-back shot to put it to a five-point lead was probably a shot only he can make. So I thought a gutty effort from a lot of guys. It wasn't our best stuff, but we got it done."
Damian Lillard finished with 28 points to lead Portland in scoring, but shot just 7-for-24 from the field and 2-for-8 from three. McCollum finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
"We should be proud of the way we pushed them," Lillard said. "It could easily have been a seven-game series."
Now the Warriors must play the waiting game, as they get set to take on the winner of the other Western Conference semifinal between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are ahead 3-2 and will have a chance to close it out on Thursday night in Oklahoma City.
Follow AJ Neuharth-Keusch on Twitter @tweetAJNK. Contributing: Associated Press.
