OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 125-117 on Wednesday night in an offensive show that was eventually decided by defensive fortitude.

The Blazers provided an unexpected fight, after a few less-than-competitive games against Golden State. On Wednesday, they managed that sans Damian Lillard's services. Perhaps it shouldn't have been so surprising: Lillard's absence meant C.J. McCollum could shoot sans conscience.

In the first half, he took full advantage of the opportunity, and of the Warriors. McCollum racked up 26 points on 19 shots as Golden State ceded 71 points over the first two periods.

Stephen Curry went for 35 points and added seven rebounds and five assists as the Warriors eased past the Blazers. Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images

The Warriors scored a "scant" 69 in the half, paced by Kevin Durant's cool efficiency (20 in the half, 30 in the game, plus-22). Durant was blistering in the first half from deep and put pressure on Portland in transition throughout.

The Warriors clamped down in the third quarter, holding the Blazers to 21 points and McCollum to 0-of-3 shooting in the stanza. Klay Thompson was particularly impressive over that sequence, hounding McCollum back to mortality.

"We talked about it at halftime and made the adjustments," Draymond Green said of the defensive shift. "We started to really put two guys on [McCollum] whenever he came off the screen-and-roll. We paid a lot more attention to him."

Green added of Thompson, "You have to give Klay a lot of credit. He was all over him."

On the offensive end, Golden State found a spark from Stephen Curry (35 points, 25 shots), who played with some needed verve in this one. His most memorable play evoked the magic of last season. Curry leaped past Mason Plumlee, started to throw a lefty pass, changed his mind midair, and somehow scooped in a reverse layup with his right hand.

After the implausible flight of fancy, Curry jogged down the court, staring at his hands in performative disbelief.

Of a night where he hoisted 25 shots, Curry said, "Missed some easy ones. Continue to be aggressive, look for those opportunities, and it was kind of one of those nights where they defended a certain way no matter if we wanted to promote ball movement, or get in the pick-and-rolls or what not.

"We had a lot of options.”

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As Curry was bewildering himself with acrobatic layups, Green was playing well between foul issues. The Blazers perhaps targeted him a few times in the third quarter after he picked up his fifth foul, but to no avail. Green held the fort, managed not to foul, and finished the game with 9 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds, adding savvy plays down the stretch.

Wednesday's affair was effectively closed out by Golden State's Super Death lineup, with a corner 3 from Curry and a steal-to-and-1 from Durant serving as killers. Portland put up a spirited fight but lacked the bodies to keep it going.

This game was notable for Golden State's use of a much-hyped strategy: The Warriors employed plenty of pick-and-rolls involving Durant and Curry (they took turns being the screen-setter) and found some success in doing so.

The Warriors haven't gone to that look as much as some anticipated, in part because it hasn't yet yielded obvious results.

"We had more," Warriors coach Steve Kerr indicated of the plays, with a smile. "Just experimenting, just like I told you I was going to do in training camp."

It worked Wednesday night, at least against Portland's defensive personnel. Perhaps what this game lacked in late suspense, it made up for in foreshadowing the future. This is probably not the last we've seen of the Curry-Durant pick-and-roll.