Nine-Man Warriors Fall 123-118 to Lillard and Morant's Blazers in Preseason

The short-handed Golden State Warriors ran out of gas late in Portland, falling 123-118 to the new-look Trail Blazers in preseason action at the Moda Center on Wednesday night. Playing the second leg of a back-to-back after beating the Lakers on Tuesday, Golden State suited up only nine active players. Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Yaxel Lendeborg, Al Horford, Brandin Podziemski, De'Anthony Melton, Gui Santos, Georges Niang and Gary Payton II all stayed in the Bay Area. Portland, meanwhile, hosted its preseason opener with a lineup featuring new stars Damian Lillard and Ja Morant. Despite the talent gap on paper, the Warriors hung around all night and levelled the game at 90 with ten minutes to play. That was the cue for Jeremy Sochan, whose ten fourth-quarter points shut the door on any upset in Portland. Dalen Terry was the standout for the skeleton Warriors, playing 43 minutes and posting 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting with nine assists, eight rebounds and four steals. Second-year guard Miles Kelly added 24 points off the bench with seven rebounds and six assists in 28 minutes. The loss was Golden State's second of the preseason. The Warriors get Thursday and Friday off before welcoming the Sacramento Kings to Chase Center on Saturday afternoon.