By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahamian sharpshooter Chavano “Buddy” Hield and the Golden State Warriors are certainly trending in the right direction since acquiring National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat just before the trade deadline in February.

The Warriors knocked off the Portland Trail Blazers 130-120 at home for their fifth-straight victory on Monday night to improve to 37-28  (win/loss record) in the Western Conference.

It was a special night for Hield as he was one of six Warriors players to hit double digits in the contest and also jumped ahead of fellow Bahamian NBA pro Eric “EJ” Gordon for the 16th spot on the NBA’s all-time made threes list.

The Grand Bahamian three-point specialist broke out of a recent shooting slump and erupted for 20 points, a season-high seven assists and two rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.

He wrapped up the game shooting 7-for-10 from the field and connected on 6-of-9 three-pointers in the win. He is now up to 2,089 made threes and is just one spot behind NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce, who retired with 2,143 made threes.

The 32-year-old veteran sharpshooter caught a pass from versatile big man Draymond Green and connected on a three at the 11:31 mark of the second quarter to put the Warriors ahead by 9 (38-27). He spoke about what was flowing for him on offense in the recent win. “Just finding the ball and finally making some shots but just reading the defense, read and react and just playing off of the head of the snake which is Steph and Jimmy. The ball was popping today— the ball didn’t pop as much we wanted to in Detroit and Steve came in and made emphasis on just picking up ball pop again and I think everybody did a good job of just moving the ball and just finding the right guy open and it’s free react offense that we have,” he said

Hield was not the only Warriors player to have the hot hand against Portland.

Stephen Curry lit up the Trail Blazers’ defence for a team-high 24 points, three assists and two boards.

Butler, who previously played for the Miami Heat, put together his first triple double performance in the Warriors uniform.

He recorded 15 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals in 35 minutes of action.

Gary Payton II led the bench unit with 26 points.

The Warriors have been on a tear since adding Butler to the team roster.

Golden State are 12-1 in the Jimmy Butler era and have won 11 of their last 13 games to claim the sixth seed out West.

Hield talked about what makes Butler a special addition to the Warriors team.

“He is just a connector on both ends. He knows how to win and he knows how to play and he is aggressive on defence. He is a guy that’s seen multiple schemes and he is just the force that we need on both ends. He knows how to settle us down when we need a bucket, to settle down and get to the free throw line…He’s a great connector on both ends and that is why he is here,” Hield said

The team meant business against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Hield drained another long bomb at the 9:37 mark in the second period to give the Warriors a nine-point advantage (44-35).

Portland showed some signs of life and managed to cut the deficit down to just 5 (44-39) after Anfernee Simons canned a 15-footer.

Despite the push, the Warriors were firmly in the driver’s seat by 19 (68-49) at the halftime break.

The Trail Blazers refused to go down easily and shifted the score to single digits once again with Duop Reath’s layup putting the team within 4 (94-90) late in the third.

Hield and the Warriors’ Moses Moody mailed in back-to-back triples to extend the lead to double digits once again and the Blazers played catch up the rest of the way. 

The Warriors were efficient all night long, shooting 52.9 per cent on field goals while holding the Trail Blazers to 48.4 per cent.

They were also lethal from long range, connecting on 51.2 per cent of their makes from deep while stopping Portland at 42.9 per cent.

Next up for Hield and the Warriors will be the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night at the Chase Centre.