SAN FRANCISCO _ On Monday morning, Golden State Warriors rookie Eric Paschall brushed off any concerns about his 3-point shot.
"Oh yeah, it's gonna come."
After missing all five 3-pointers he attempted in Saturday's loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Paschall made his first three 3-pointers Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers (3-4), four of six total, in route to 36 points on 11-of-19 shooting, 13 rebounds, and a 127-118 victory for the Warriors (2-5).
Oh, and it was his birthday. He brushed that off, too.
"I'm not a big birthday person," Paschall said before the game. "I just go on with the days and if it's my birthday, it's my birthday."
Unsurprisingly, Paschall doesn't usually do much to celebrate his birthdays. The Warriors instead celebrated their second win of the season, and the first at Chase Center. The victory avoids the first 0-5 start at home since the 1997-98 season.
Tweeted Warriors guard Stephen Curry, the last Warriors rookie to record at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in a game: "This guy (Eric Paschall) is on another level right now I love it. Birthday vibes!!!!"
Without Curry (fractured hand), D'Angelo Russell (right ankle) and Draymond Green (sprained finger), the Warriors again leaned on a young lineup of newcomers. Specifically, Paschall and guard Ky Bowman.
In his second game as starting point guard, Bowman, playing on a two-way contract, finished with 19 points and eight assists in 37 minutes.
The turning point of the game occurred with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter, when Bowman got into a heated exchange with Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside. After making a layup to put the Warriors up 104-99, Bowman was shoved by Whiteside in the chest.
Bowman, 6-foot-1, took issue, and got into the 7-footer's face _ or at least as close as he could get to his face. The scene fired up the Warriors, who then completed a 12-0 run to take a controlling lead in the game. At the final buzzer, a fired-up Paschall chest bumped guard Damion Lee.
The Trail Blazers were paced by guard Damian Lillard, who finished with 39 points on 15-of-26 shooting, and Whiteside, who logged 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Next, the Warriors will travel to Houston to play the Rockets on Wednesday.
