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Warriors stave off Trail Blazers

Feb 13, 2009 - 7:12 AM OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- The Golden State Warriors started fast and hung tough down the stretch to down the Portland Trail Blazers, 105-98, on Thursday.

Corey Maggette scored 24 points off the bench as the Warriors grabbed a 32-20 lead after the first quarter, and used a surge in the final minute of the third quarter to stretch their advantage.

They needed all of it as Portland used a fast-and-furious rally in the fourth quarter, posting a 36-25 advantage that came up just short.

"I'm thankful, we've been through a lot this year with the injuries and having guys in and out of the lineup," Golden State's Stephen Jackson said. "But to win nine of our last 16 games and to have our first three in a row winning streak, it feels great going into this All-Star break. Hopefully we can get some rest and come back with the same energy and the same momentum."

Brandon Roy scored a game-high 37 points as Portland closed within 95-91 in the final minute after Sergio Rodriguez forced a turnover and found Rudy Fernandez for a soaring jam.

Fernandez gave the points back, fouling Jamal Crawford, who hit a pair from the line with 38 seconds left.

A scramble led to a dunk by Greg Oden, but Portland had to foul and Jackson hit a pair from the line to make it 99-93.

The Blazers' last chance went down when an inbounds pass to Fernandez was booted into the backcourt for their 23rd turnover. Golden State hit its final 10 free throws to seal the win.

Overall, the Warriors were 39-of-43 from the line compared to 14-of-17 for Portland.

"When you've got 23 turnovers and they march to the free-throw line 43 times, that's their tempo," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "We're turning the ball over and we're not executing so you can't spot these guys 23 turnovers and they scored 20 points off of those turnovers. That killed us the first time we were here and it killed us again tonight."

Jackson and Montae Ellis had 20 points apiece for the Warriors. Ellis knocked down three key jumpers in the final quarter.

Golden State has won eight in a row at home against Portland. The Warriors' last home defeat versus the Blazers came on November 3, 2004.

"We've been working hard," said Ronny Turiaf, who had a double-double for the first time since April 2007. "We've been having some heartbreaks, we've been having decisions at the end and we've been staying focused as far as what is the good stuff we're doing out there and the wrong stuff and I think when you do that you put yourself in a position to be successful."

The Warriors used a 9-0 run in the first quarter to grab a 20-11 advantage. They built their lead and it was a dozen when Maggette hit a driving layup with three seconds left in the quarter.

The margin hovered around double digits for much of the second and third quarters until Golden State unleashed a surge in the final two minutes of the third.

Jerryd Bayless hit a shot from beyond the arc to make it 72-61 but the Warriors closed with an 8-1 rush to seemingly bust the game wide-open. Anthony Randolph had six of his nine points in the burst.

The Blazers nibbled away and finally got the gap below double digits with four minutes left.

"They (the Warriors) do a good job of flopping and the refs buy it, so we've got to figure out another way to play them when we come here," Roy said. "Maybe not go inside so much. But it seems like every time they play us they take our advantage right away and that's our big men."