OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors limped to the finish line in their Western Conference semifinal series Wednesday night.

Hitting the tape first made them feel good.

And getting at least four days off before playing again made them feel even better.

Stephen Curry bombed in a 3-pointer with 24.9 seconds remaining, helping the Warriors hold off the Portland Trail Blazers 125-121 to win the series four games to one.

"That might be the closest five-game series of all time," Warriors guard Klay Thompson said after watching his team record three narrow victories and survive despite injuries to Curry (sprained right knee ligament), Draymond Green (sprained left ankle) and Andrew Bogut (strained left adductor muscle).

"A break is great," Thompson continued. "A lot of our guys need it to recover. I'm just excited to get to the next round."

In advancing to the Western finals for the second year in a row, the Warriors await the winner of the Oklahoma City Thunder-San Antonio Spurs semifinal.

Should the Thunder eliminate the Spurs in Game 6 on Thursday night, the best-of-seven conference finals would begin Monday night in Oakland.

"It felt like we were running on fumes a little bit at the end," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "But we talk about our depth all the time. We rely on it. A lot of people really played well."

The fifth-seeded Trail Blazers gave the top-seeded Warriors a battle in Game 5, leading early by as many as 11 and hanging within 118-116 with the basketball inside the final 50 seconds of the game.

However, Thompson harassed Portland star Damian Lillard into a miss from 17 feet, and Curry, freeing himself above the top of the key, nailed a 25-footer for the backbreaking hoop that put Golden State up 121-116.

Curry capped a 29-point night with four free throws in the final 18.2 seconds, helping Golden State record its eighth victory in 10 playoff games this year.

"Fantastic series," Kerr said. "We had to fight and scrap and claw and do everything possible.

"That's a terrific basketball team. It's not often that you play against a team in the playoffs and admire them at the same time, but I admire what they do. Nobody expected them to do what they did."

Thompson led the Warriors with 33 points, hitting 13 of 17 from the field and six of nine 3-point attempts.

He was also the driving force defensively on Lillard, who was harassed into 7-for-24 shooting on a 28-point night.

"I'm proud of my focus," Thompson said of his two-way effort. "I'm only able to do that if I'm focused, and I thought in these playoffs I've been focused.

"We only get one shot at this and just want to give it my all every game. When I play with great focus, I think sky's the limit."

Curry's 29 points were a result of 10-for-20 shooting, including 5-for-11 on 3-pointers. In his first start since the first-round series against the Houston Rockets, he went 36 minutes and found time for a game-high 11 assists.

Green added a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, and Shaun Livingston added 10 points for the Warriors, who have won seven straight at home over the Trail Blazers.

Green left the court briefly in the fourth quarter to get his left ankle retaped. It didn't affect his playing time.

Bogut, who had four rebounds and three assists in nine minutes, did not return after getting hurt in the second quarter. He will be re-evaluated in the time off before the next series.

"We definitely need a few days," Kerr said of the break. "We could use a little rest."

Lillard complemented his 28 points with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

"We should be proud of the way we pushed them," said Lillard, an Oakland native. "It could have easily been a seven-game series if the ball goes this way instead of that way in a couple of these games. But you have to give them credit. They did what championship teams do."

Backcourt mate CJ McCollum came alive in the fourth quarter to finish with 27 points on 11-for-23 shooting.

Allen Crabbe (20), Al-Farouq Aminu (16) and Moe Harkless (13) also scored in double figures for Portland, which was playing its first-ever playoff series against Golden State.

Portland made 16 of its 36 3-point shots, outscoring the Warriors 48-42 from beyond the arc.

For the Trail Blazers, it was a generally satisfying finish to a season that began with just one returning starter -- Lillard.

"This was a remarkable season," Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "I give credit to Golden State. They know how to close out games. Obviously, they're the better team.

"I don't walk away from this thinking we should have won the series or we should have won those (three close games). I come away thinking we could have won those games. Going forward, we'll learn from that."

The Trail Blazers, who led for the first 29 minutes of the game, regained a 96-95 advantage on a driving hoop by McCollum with 10:45 remaining in the contest.

Golden State then ran off to its biggest lead of the night, getting 2- and 3-point hoops by reserve center Marreese Speights in an 11-3 run that produced a 106-99 advantage.

The Trail Blazers wouldn't go away, though. McCollum buried a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play to get Portland within 110-109 with 4:02 to go.

Andre Iguodala and Curry countered with 3-pointers for the Warriors, but McCollum completed a personal 11-point flurry with another trey and a 2-point jumper, keeping Portland's hopes alive at 118-114 with 2:24 to go.

But the Blazers never got over the hump.

NOTES: If the Oklahoma City Thunder-San Antonio Spurs series goes to a seventh game, the Western finals would begin next Wednesday. ... Warriors PG Stephen Curry received the NBA Most Valuable Player trophy before the game in a presentation that featured commissioner Adam Silver. Curry was the league's first unanimous choice. ... Trail Blazers SF Al-Farouq Aminu made 55.2 percent of his 3-pointers (16-for-29) in the Golden State series after hitting just 29.3 percent (12-for-41) in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers. He made at least three treys in all five games against the Warriors after never previously in his career having made three in even three consecutive games.