The Golden State Warriors thumped the Portland 118-106 Sunday in Oracle Arena, and from the Trail Blazers’ perspective, the numbers were grim.
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After a recent practice Klay Thompson was spotted taking long-distance shots from near the logo a la Stephen Curry.
Stephen Curry has resumed light shooting without movement on his injured right knee with the hopes he could get into scrimmages by later next week. Their supporting cast came through in the clutch, too. And as they already knew and as the Blazers were reminded in the series opener, this harmonious hoops team known as the Warriors goes well beyond Curry and his transcendent talent.
“We just got into a good groove (in the final two games against Houston), and that carried over to tonight”. In total, five Portland players scored in double figures. He has the hot hand, becoming the first player in National Basketball Association history to make seven 3-pointers in consecutive playoff games. They kept jawing a few minutes later and were tossed with 15.1 seconds left in the period. After sitting out Games 2 and 3, he started Game 4 but slipped on a wet spot near mid-court just before halftime and hasn’t played since.
There was the way the Warriors jumped Portland in the first quarter, storming out to a 37-17 lead. Thompson had the tough chore of stopping him. Shaun Livingston, starting in place of Curry, chipped in 12 points and 6 assists. He said on Friday he hoped to do some shooting within a day or two, and that happened Saturday. He still will have to test the knee by putting pressure on it and planting on it when he shoots. While some have suggested that Curry could return as early as Game 3 back in Portland, no official timeline has emerged. Then 27 more assists Sunday. “They are an elite team either way, and they showed that tonight”. As long as they’re good shots and open shots and we shoot them with confidence, it’s going to work itself out. For a team like the Trail Blazers that relies on screens for its guards against a team like the Warriors that isn’t timid in switching its big guys onto those guards, it’s problematic. He was far less animated this time after picking up teammate Ian Clark during Wednesday’s elimination of the Houston Rockets.
“I still think it’s going to be kind of a mix-and-match type thing”, Kerr said. “Whenever we try to run Bogut up there, he’s always switching on the smaller guy”. Golden State just simply does not lose at home, and even without Curry they have proven they can still put plenty of points on the board.
Damian Liilard scored a team-high 28 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past the LA Clippers. With those two leading the way, Golden State’s victory on Sunday never even came into jeopardy.
The Blazers began the game 1 of 9 and missed their initial five 3-point attempts. While CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard, Al-Farouq Aminu, Maurice Harkless and Mason Plumlee will start for the Trail Blazers. Bogut had another timely block in the second period.
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The TrailBlazers’ efforts were rewarded at times, though Golden State’s defensive showing was hotter than ever, and has been elite through the postseason. This clip from the first quarter speaks for itself. The Trail Blazers finished with a 40.2 shooting percentage compared to the Warriors’ 47.3 percent clip. Curry had 31 points along with Thompson’s 23 points. The Warriors’ 20-point lead after the first was their largest for the initial period during the playoffs for the shot-clock era.
