KLAY THOMPSON scored 27 points and gave Golden State its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer with 5:33 left, and the Warriors rallied to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 110-99 Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

    “It started with how focused we were in that fourth,” Thompson said. “We’ve been down and out before. ... We were just locked in on both sides of the ball. We can build on this game. That effort there in the fourth quarter is what it’s going to take to beat this team.”

    Draymond Green added 17 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots in another win without MVP Stephen Curry, sidelined with a sprained MCL in his right knee and relished to coaching to help any way he could. Game 3 is Saturday in Portland, and Curry could be in uniform.

    Thompson’s 3 with 6:44 remaining tied it, igniting the sellout crowd inside deafening Oracle Arena as the defending champions erased an early 17-point deficit.

    “We hung in there,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We turned around what was a pretty bad game for us but we had enough time to get back.”

    Damian Lillard’s 3 to beat the third-quarter buzzer put Portland ahead 87-76 entering the final 12 minutes — Golden State’s largest deficit going into the fourth all playoffs.

    For most of the night, the energized Blazers did everything the defending champions typically do on their impenetrable home court: making the zippy pass, setting the tone on the defensive end, crashing the boards, answering any threat with a big basket.

    “We played three really good quarters. We showed we can compete with them,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “It got away from us in the fourth quarter. It’s disappointing to lose a game you’re competitive and you’re in position to win in the fourth quarter. We’ve got to close it out. It was an opportunity to get a win on the road. We’ve got to learn from it.”(SD-Agencies)