The Golden State Warriors continue to show why they were one of the top two teams in the league upon the arrival of superstar forward Kevin Durant.
During game five of the Western Conference Semifinals, Durant suffered a minor calf strain but the Warriors prevailed and won their next two games to close out the series against James Harden and the Houston Rockets.
On Tuesday night, the Warriors took on the Portland Trailblazers in the final series where they will have home court advantage in Oracle Arena. They defeated the Blazers 116-94 to take a 1-0 series lead.
The Trailblazers are coming off an emotional game seven victory over the Denver Nuggets 100-96 where guard C.J. McCollum lit up the Mile High with 37 points and some key shots down the stretch.
The Warriors were coming off a gritty 118-113 road victory against the Houston Rockets where Stephen Curry put together one of the best second half performances in NBA playoff history with 33 points after a scoreless first half.
Early on in the game, it was evident that Portland’s backcourt stars weren’t ready to bring the intensity that is needed against the Warriors.
The first half was competitive throughout but the main issue for Portland was turnovers and rebounding. The Warriors were the more aggressive and well-rested team.
Golden State’s game plan was to gang rebound on every shot knowing that they’re at a disadvantage with Enes Kanter. On rebound attempts, the bigs for the Warriors would corral Kanter and take him out of the picture while the rest of the team came in to secure the rebound.
The splash brothers had another sensational performance. Steph Curry finished with 36 points and nine three pointers. Klay Thompson didn’t start off well but finished with 26 points and played great defense on C.J. McCollum.
The Portland backcourt combined for 11-31 shooting from the field and neither player eclipsed the 20 point mark.
Moving forward, the Blazers are going to have to do a better job of getting physical with the Warriors, win the rebounding battle, protect the ball, and knock down the quality shots they’re used to making.
Game two will take place on Thursday May 16th at 9 p.m. EST in Oracle Arena.