SAN FRANCISCO — Damian Lillard joined Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler as the only Portland players to score 15,000 points for the franchise, finishing with 34 as the Trail Blazers spoiled Golden State’s home opener with a 123-98 win over the Warriors on Friday night.
“Fifteen thousand is a huge accomplishment, something that I’m proud of but my work is far from done,” Lillard said.
Historic night for @Dame_Lillard!
— NBA (@NBA) January 2, 2021
▪️ Passes 15,000 career points
▪️ Moves up to 19th all-time in 3PM
▪️ 34 PTS, 8 AST in the @trailblazers W pic.twitter.com/nUXwMxUMr1
CJ McCollum added 28 points for Portland, knocking down 4 of 5 3-pointers early as the Trail Blazers hit 10 of 15 from long range to start the game. McCollum became the second player in NBA history to make 25 or more over the first five games of a season.
Stephen Curry did it twice. He shot just 4 for 12 from deep and had 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Warriors, Andrew Wiggins scored 15 and Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed 10 points in his first home game with the team.
Golden State finally got back to Chase Center for its first home game in a 297-day span. But the Warriors took another lopsided loss following a 2-2 road trip in which they were outscored by 65 points in defeats at Brooklyn and Milwaukee then won at Chicago and Detroit by a combined 11 points.
“They came out smoking hot, they were making everything,” coach Steve Kerr said.
Lillard, from the Warriors’ former city of Oakland, shot 11 for 21 with six 3-pointers and also dished out eight assists. He averaged 43.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists in three games against the Warriors last season - including a 61-point performance on Jan. 20, 2020.
Draymond Green didn’t score and had four rebounds, four assists and four fouls over nearly 18 minutes making his season debut for Golden State, his first game since Feb. 27 against the Los Angeles Lakers and a stretch of 309 days. He had been sidelined the first four games by a right foot injury after being delayed starting training camp because he had the coronavirus.
“Draymond just looks like he’s getting his wind. He looked like a guy who missed training camp and has been working his way to get onto the floor,” Kerr said. “It looked like an exhibition-style game for him. That’s not a criticism, it’s just where he is physically.”
No. 2 overall draft pick James Wiseman gave Golden State a scare when he went down grabbing his left ankle late before walking off on his own. It wasn’t serious and he is expected to play Sunday.
Images of the late Clifford Robinson wearing both Warriors and Blazers jerseys were shown on the big screen during a first-quarter break. He died Aug. 29 at age 53.