Warriors melt down after fight with Blazers

ORACLE ARENA — Warriors vs. Trail Blazers Saturday night went something like this:  Elbows thrown, fighting words exchanged, multiple ejections and, surely, league penalties to follow.

Late in the third quarter, Andrew Bogut and Joel Freeland got into an altercation underneath the basket that escalated into a multiple-player brawl.

While the tussle seemed to ignite production from Portland, Golden State fell apart in the fourth quarter, blew a 14 point lead and handed the Trail Blazers a 113-101 victory.

The melee started when Bogut sent an elbow at Freeland’s face after getting tangled up in the paint. As Nicolas Batum came in to calm things down, Mo Williams flew at Bogut. Draymond Green, LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews got involved as the scuffle drifted toward the Warriors bench.

Things seemed to settle for a couple seconds until suit-wearing, injured Jermaine O’Neal pushed Williams and Matthews darted toward the Warriors bench to intervene.

Matthews was charged his second technical foul of the game and ejected along with Williams and Green.  Aldridge, Freeland and Bogut also received technical fouls for their involvement but remained in the game.

After the game, Bogut refused to comment on the situation. Head coach Mark Jackson, who was busy restraining his players during the scene, said he didn’t see what happened.

Jackson, did say that what ensued after was a disappointment and just a show of bad basketball from his team:

“We were not disciplined on the offensive end. We did not respond once the altercation took place. … We were just bad — just bad.”

After the brouhaha, Portland went on a 9-0 run to close the third quarter and outscored the Warriors 32-17 in the fourth.  Aldridge scored 15 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter with no answer from a depleted Golden State team.

Klay Thompson fouled out of the game with 5:07 left to play and was upset with how he played the second half.  Thompson said he should have played less with his hands after his third foul and instead took too many chances:

“It’s on me. I’ll learn. It won’t happen again, especially late in the fourth…You’ve just got to move on and I didn’t do that tonight.”

Wesley Matthews gave Portland an early lead scoring 13 points including three from downtown in the first six minutes of play.  But the Warriors finished out the first quarter on a 12-4 run with three reserves on the floor Nemaja Nedovic, Green and Marreese Speights.

Nedovic opened the second quarter with a trey putting the Warriors up  29-25, but turned the ball over to Mo Williams with 10:29 left in the half.

Williams led a fast break down the court only to be chased down by Kent Bazemore who rejected Williams’ attempt, sending the ball deep into the crowd.

Golden State went on an 11-0 run  midway through the second quarter making the score 49-37 with 3:05 left.

But with  just under two minutes left in the half Damian Lillard send a dagger pass to Batum for a lay-in.  On the following possession Batum was sent to the free throw line where he cut the Warriors lead to just three points.

Thompson, who was on fire all night and finished with 30 points despite early foul trouble, scored six straight points coming out of halftime.

Stephen Curry, returning after missing two games with a concussion, hit his first and second threes within 20 seconds of each other and scored 13 of his 22 points in the third quarter.

But when the on court fight ensued — and Thompson fouled out — the Warriors didn’t have a chance.  Golden State fell scoreless for more than four minutes in the final frame, and as pressure mounted with each possession, they fell further behind.

Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts was proud of how his team responded after the third quarter tussle:

“I thought it brought us together. … It’s emotional, tempers flare, that happens, but I think what was more important for us was how we responded.”

The Warriors head out on a four-game road trip facing New Orleans, Dallas, Oklahoma City and Sacramento before returning hope to play the Toronto Raptors Dec. 3.

Notes

Saturday night’s loss handed Golden State its first three-game losing streak of the season. … The Blazers extended their winning streak to 10 games, tying the Spurs’ current NBA-high 10-game streak.  This was Golden State’s first loss all-time when Klay Thompson scores 30-plus points. ….  Stephen Curry returned after a two-game absence to post his second 20-point, 10-assist game and fourth double-double of the season, totaling 22 points and 11 assists. …Nemaja Nedovic scored a career-high five points while hitting his first career three-pointer in a career-high 13 minutes. … LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 30 points and a season high 21 rebounds, three steals and three blocks, setting career-highs in free throws made (16) and free throws attempted (19).

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