Matt Steinmetz

“Scary, crazy,” was how Warriors center Zaza Pachulia described the finish to Golden State’s 113-111 win over the Blazers in Portland on Sunday night. The Warriors survived a wide-open, 3-point attempt by Evan Turner at the final buzzer to get out of town with a victory.

The Warriors were playing without Stephen Curry, who missed the game because of the flu.

Link to “Warriors WrapUp,” the postgame show on 95.7-FM The Game.

The Warriors led by 21 points in the first half and were up 106-99 with 38 seconds remaining, before a furious Blazers’ rally gave them one final shot at winning. After a Portland timeout, Turner squared up Kevin Durant on the perimeter, then jab-stepped, which got Durant off balance.

That stumble gave Turner a wide-open look. He missed and Mason Plumlee’s attempted tip-in also missed.

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Not a rivalry. Not even close.

The Warriors beat the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth consecutive time on Saturday, and this one was as emphatic as any of the previous seven. Golden State drilled LA 144-98, getting a splendid third-quarter performance from Stephen Curry, who crammed 25 of his game-high 43 points into that 12-minute stretch.

It seems like a lifetime ago when the Clippers eliminated the Warriors in the first round of the postseason. In fact, it was 2014, when Mark Jackson was the head coach, and ever since then Golden State has dominated the matchup.

Link to “Warriors WrapUp,” the postgame show on 95.7-FM The Game.

–Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant combined for 82 points on 31-for-45 from the field, including a ridiculous 14-for-22 from beyond the arc. The Clippers were playing without point guard Chris Paul, and it might have been interesting to see if he could have done anything with Curry on this night.

–Curry finished 15-for-23 from the field, including 9-for-15 from 3-point range. He also chipped in with nine rebounds and six assists. Because Golden State was in total command, coach Steve Kerr was able to rest his starters for the entire fourth quarter. The Warriors play at Portland on Sunday.

–It’s fascinating to me that the the Clippers’ frontcourt of DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin is a strength of their team. And yet that duo seldom gives the Warriors trouble. Jordan just doesn’t have the offensive game to hurt the Warriors consistently in the paint, and even when he does exert his size and athleticism you can neutralize him by fouling him.

As for Griffin, he finished with 20 points but he just wasn’t much of a factor. He was on the receiving end of a momentum play in the first half, getting blocked by Draymond Green at one end, then not getting back and allow Green to dunk at the other.

On the “NBA This Week,” we welcomed Michael Lee of the Vertical and Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post. With the Warriors facing the LA Clippers on Saturday night at Oracle, we talked about what happened to one of the league’s best rivalries.

That’s the way it used to be for the Warriors and Clippers. But now it’s all about the Warriors, who have beaten the Clippers seven consecutive games and 15 of the past 20. With Chris Paul out of tonight’s game, it’s tough to see that trend stopping.

What are the plans for the Clippers? Can they get healthy for one last run or will they try to make a move (Carmelo Anthony?) to shake things up? Other topics of conversation were the Chicago Bulls, who are a mess these days, the New York Knicks and whether or not the Kings would entertain trading DeMarcus Cousins.

Also, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he would play the Warriors’ four all-stars together during the NBA All-Star game in mid-February in New Orleans. A hot topic of conversation is which player do you want being the fifth on that unit.

Link to interview with Michael Lee, senior writer at the Vertical.

Link to Hour 3 & interview with Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post.