PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Golden State Warriors were thrilled to have Klay Thompson. Thompson, returning after a one-game absence to attend his grandfathers funeral in the Bahamas, scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 11.1 seconds remaining to lift the Warriors to a 113-112 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night. Stephen Curry led all scorers with 37 points for the Warriors, who rallied from an 18-point deficit midway through the third quarter to snap a two-game skid. Golden State also moved 1 1/2 games behind Portland for the Western Conferences No. 5 playoff spot. "Thats as good a win as weve had in three years," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "It would have been very easy to fold our tent and hang our heads. Klay and Steph were spectacular." Damian Lillard finished with 26 points and Nicholas Batum had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Blazers, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Portland also played without injured All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed his second game with a lower back contusion. Batum had a chance to tie the score with 5.8 seconds remaining, but missed the second of two free throws. The Blazers got the rebound but failed to get another shot off. Curry dedicated the victory to Thompson, who had to take three different flights to get from the Bahamas to Portland and didnt arrive until the wee hours Sunday morning. "We wanted to get this one for Klay," said Curry, who made 11 of 24 shots, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range. "Hes been through a lot this week, put on a lot of miles, and obviously ben through a lot. "For him to compartmentalize a little bit for two hours and come out and play was big for us. It says a lot about how much hes committed to whats going on here." Thompson didnt show any fatigue, especially in the second half when he connected on 8 of 14 shots, including three 3-pointers. "Yeah, three flights, but I slept on most of them," Thompson said. "I actually felt fresh when I stepped on the court. You might not believe me, but I warmed up before the game and felt good." Robin Lopez finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Wesley Matthews and Dorell Wright had 13 points each for the Blazers, who led by 18 points twice, the second time at 72-54 with 7:20 remaining in the third quarter. "We have to put that game away," Matthews said. "With guys like Steph and Klay, they can get hot and thats what they did. We still gave ourselves a chance, but were at the point now where if we have a team down 18, we have to put that game away." Golden State pulled to 85-77 going into the fourth quarter and took the lead with 6:01 to play after Thompson blocked Lillards shot at one end of the court and got fouled on a drive to the basket at the other end while Portland coach Terry Stotts was also assessed a technical foul. Curry made the technical free throw and then Thompson made 1 of 2 foul shots to put the Warriors in front 97-96 -- their first lead since 31-29. From there, the lead changed four times and there were two ties before Thompsons 3 from in front of the Portland bench put the Warriors in front, 110-107, with 53.8 seconds left. After a dunk by Lillard pulled Portland to 110-109, Curry turned the ball over. Lillard was then fouled driving to the basket and made both free throws to make it 111-110 with 20.7 seconds remaining. Thompsons third 3 of the game gave the Warriors the lead for good. "Hes a big-time player," Jackson said of Thompson. "Hes as cool as they come. It does not bother him making and missing shots. Hes not afraid to take the next one." David Lee had 16 points and Jermaine ONeal added eight points and four rebounds off the bench for the Warriors. "Disappointed to lose another close game," Stotts said. "Curry got hot in the second half. We have to figure out ways to close out games and realize when we have a 16-, 18-point lead, we cant take our foot off the gas." Portlands Mo Williams, expected to miss two weeks with a strained right hip muscle, returned after missing only two games and had 12 points, four assists and two steals. NOTES: Batum matched his season high with five 3-pointers and became the first player in franchise history to record consecutive games with 20 or more points, 10 or more rebounds and four or more 3-pointers. Hes also the first NBA player with 22 or more points, 14 or more rebounds, and four or more 3-pointers in back-to-back games since Minnesotas Kevin Love on Jan. 1-2, 2012. ... Jackson said before the game that the Blazers are a different team without Aldridge, who was averaging team highs of 23.4 points and 11.1 rebounds when was injured in the third quarter of Wednesdays 103-90 loss at San Antonio. ... The Blazers came in second in league scoring at 107.3 points a game and had scored 90 or more points in 20 consecutive games. The last time Portland was held to fewer than 90 points was in a 98-81 loss at home to Memphis. ... Jackson lobbied for eighth-year centre Andrew Bogut as a candidate for the NBAs all-defensive team. "Hes the anchor to our defence," Jackson said. "Hes a guy who changes, alters, blocks a lot of shots at the rim, protects the paint, and rebounds the basketball. Hes been very, very valuable to what weve been able to do this year and deserves a lot of credit." Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 .Y. - Through three quarters, the Brooklyn Nets could not shake the NBAs worst team. Buy Shoes Black Friday . Toronto ended an 0-4-0 skid with Sundays shootout win over visiting New Jersey, but the club could have a difficult time making it two victories in a row tonight. The Maple Leafs have dropped three straight and 11 of the last 12 regular- season meetings against Boston overall and the Bruins have claimed six straight in Beantown. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . It looked like being another miserable day for Moyes when Ashley Westwood put Villa in front from a 13th-minute free kick. But Rooney headed United level seven minutes later, and the striker netted his 16th of the season for the struggling champions from the penalty spot before halftime. Discount Shoes Black Friday . -- Derek Jeter says the New York Yankees have no choice but to move forward now that Alex Rodriguez has accepted his suspension for the 2014 season. Cheap Shoes Black Friday .Currently no, Tatjana Haenni, FIFAs deputy director of the competitions division and head of womens competitions, said Tuesday in an interview from Ottawa.TORONTO - Torontos Kyle Lowry had spent big chunks of Sundays game on the bench, part of the coaching and medical staffs plan to manage the minutes of their battered and bruised team leader. Unleashed in the fourth quarter, Lowry scored seven of his 25 points in the games final minute to lift the Raptors to a 96-86 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. After three horrible quarters, the Raptors outscored the Hawks 36-15 in the final 12 minutes to seal the victory. "Weve got a group of guys who are resilient, we want to win games, weve got a goal in mind," Lowry said. "Its fun to win games and when youve found the recipe to win in the fourth, you have to stick with it." Lowry also had four assists and four steals in just 27 minutes. With the Raptors poised to make their first playoff appearance in six years, the team is being careful with his playing time. "Hes had a lot of minutes," said coach Dwane Casey. "Its hard believe me, as a coach and for him as a competitor, it looks like were going at each other but we both understand the situation. If its close I may close my eyes and forget time, but we have to watch his minutes." DeMar DeRozan added 21 points Sunday, while Jonas Valanciunas finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Greivis Vasquez chipped in with 12 points for the Raptors (39-30). Lowry, who has struggled with a groin injury in the past, wouldnt say if anything specific is sore. "My full body has aches and pains right now," he said. "I dont think any player in the NBA right now feels 100 per cent. Its that time of year where everybody has knicks and knacks and bruises." DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap scored 17 points apiece to top the Hawks (31-37), while Jeff Teague added 16. Coming off a an energetic 119-118 loss in double overtime two nights earlier to Oklahoma City, the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors looked like a different team Sunday through three quarters of sloppy passes, horrible shooting and lackadaisical defence. One highlight on an afternoon that had almost none: the return of The Raptor mascot, who missed over five months after rupturing an Achilles tendon during training camp. Casey passed Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment boss Tim Leiweke in the hallway after the game, and told him it was like "pulling teeth, it was like going to the dentists office that first half." "Weve got to be pros like I told our players, whether its five oclock in the morning, midnight, two oclock, weve got to get ourselves going," Casey said. "With season ticket-holders paying big money to watch us play, we came out and gave them a bad performance in the first half." Casey gave his players an earful at halftime. "Aw man, he came in here yelling," DeRozan said. "Once Casey yells, youve got to do your job or youll hear him yelling after the game. We understood ... wwe were still in the game and we were playing terrible that first half.ddddddddddddquot; The Hawks, who are clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, led by as many as 14 points in the first half and were up by 71-60 heading into the fourth quarter. Finally showing some life, the Raptors chipped away at the difference and when Johnson tipped in his own miss with 5:18 left to play, it tied the game 79-79. Lowry scored on a hook shot with 44 seconds left to give the Raptors a five-point lead and some precious breathing room, then he stole the ball off an inbounds pass and scored again to help put the game away. There was a scary moment late in the game when workhorse Amir Johnson went down in a heap clutching his left knee after Shelvin Mack had fallen awkwardly on it. "You dont know if its a soccer move (embellishment) or what," Casey said. "He had my heart in my throat there for a little bit." Lowry called Johnson the teams "heart and soul." "So when that happened it kind of scared us a little bit," Lowry said. "Oh yeah, Im still scared when he falls. But hes a great player, he gives it all, and it makes everybody else give it their all too." Added DeRozan: "Ive seen Amir get hit by a Mack truck and get back up. One thing about Amir, hell play through anything and everything, but he kind of scared me tonight. When he grabbed at the knee, I kind of cussed at him a little to make sure he was alright." Johnson, who was limping in the locker-room after the game, said the initial pain was bad, but he was able to walk it off. The Raptors had lost to the Hawks earlier in the week, dropping a 118-113 decision in overtime in Atlanta on Tuesday. "We just lost focus," Millsap said on the Hawks inability to close out Sundays game. "Lost focus and they hit a few shots. We dropped our heads a little bit but we have to be more mentally tough." Toronto got off to a poor start Sunday, turning over the ball seven times in the opening quarter. The Raptors shot just 28 per cent while allowing the Hawks to shoot 56 per cent. Atlanta went up by 11 before leading 25-16 to end the quarter. A three-pointer by Millsap gave the Hawks a 14-point lead midway through the second. But the Raptors closed the quarter with a 16-9 run that included a monstrous dunk by Terrence Ross and went into the locker-room at halftime trailing 49-42. The Raptors carried that momentum into the third, cutting the Hawks lead to two points on a hook shot by Valanciunas, but abruptly went cold again. Atlanta took an 11-point advantage into the final 12 minutes. Notes: The Raptors are in Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Tuesday, then meet the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday before returning home to host Boston on Friday. ... New Toronto FC goalkeeper Julio Cesar and Hockey Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler were at the game. ' ' '