Portland Trail Blazers vs. Golden State Warriors Preview

Portland Trail Blazers (20-15) vs. Golden State Warriors (23-13)

December 29th, 2018 - 7:00 p.m. PT
Blazers injuries: None
Warriors injuries: DeMarcus Cousins (out), Damian Jones (out)
How to watch on TV: NBCSNW, NBA TV
How to stream: YouTube Live TV, Playstation Vue, Hulu Live TV, FuboTV
Radio: 620 AM
SBN Affiliate: Golden State of Mind

The Blazers pulled out a sneaky win against the Warriors in their last game thanks to a clutch Damian Lillard 3-pointer from the corner in overtime to seal the win. While Lillard’s heroics got the headlines, Jusuf Nurkic’s night was essential to the victory. He registered 27 points and 12 rebounds on 55 percent shooting from the field.

Golden State looks to recover as the team has failed to take their dominant form so far this season, with injuries and team chemistry as two big factors.

What to watch for

Can Nurkic continue his strong play? Jusuf Nurkic took advantage of Golden State’s poor interior defense to put in one of his best offensive efforts of the season. Good things happen when the offense is played through him, our own Danny Marang explained.

Will Klay Thompson wake up? Thompson has been in a bit of a shooting funk this season, and it showed against the Blazers. The sharpshooter only registered 15 points on two-of-nine shooting from 3-point land in their last matchup. We all know how hot he’s capable of getting.

How do the Blazers respond? Thursday night’s overtime victory was thrilling, but now Portland has to take on the same team who will likely be motivated coming off of a loss. It could be a classic Warriors performance where they go 0-60 from the jump and never let up. Will Portland be okay with going 1-1 against Golden State, or fight to claim back-to-back wins against the defending champs?