PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) The Trail Blazers learned their lesson. The only reason they beat Oklahoma City the third time they met was because Curry went off. Which means an ineffective Curry could put Game 1 in jeopardy. His Blazers’ counterpart, Al-Farouq Aminu, badly outplayed him at both ends and provided the additional scorer the Blazers need to play off Lillard.
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The Trail Blazers became the first team this season to defeat the Warriors twice. Aminu was 8-for-9 from the field, making four of his five 3-point attempts.Draymond Green contributed a career playoff-high 37 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and Klay Thompson added 35 points for the Warriors, who were without injured star Stephen Curry. Lillard assisted on 18 Trail Blazers points in the third quarter and scored another five of his own, as Portland extended their lead to 93-80 after three quarters. After the game, Green specifically called out this game as his worst performance of the series – despite what the stats may say – because he failed to set the tone for the Warriors with defensive intensity.
Stephen Curry sat out again for Golden State, but could be healthy enough to come back for Games 4 or 5.
Australian centre Bogut started the game strongly and continued his series dominance over Portland big man Mason Plumlee, blocking two of his layups in a two minute period in the first quarter. Golden State was doing a good job of forcing Portland’s role players into trying to score and create for themselves.
With fewer defensive stops, there were also fewer opportunities to run, and the Warriors managed just two fast-break points, never quite demonstrating their signature electricity. Lillard would continue his tear, going 4-of-6 from the field for 14 points, and was joined by Aminu, who scored his first 11 points of the game in the second quarter. The Blazers are plenty capable of winning multiple games on mostly contested shots, particularly when Lillard and McCollum play at or near their best. His 40 points were the most he’s ever scored in a playoff game. The young Blazers, for whom a playoff appearance had been anticipated by practically no one, are here today because injuries sidelined Chris Paul and Blake Griffin for the latter half of the opening round. Green and Thompson were 13-of-21 from three-point range to keep it relatively close, but there were indications all over that Game 3 would fall to the Blazers. Thompson got loose early – running Maurice Harkless ragged through pindowns from Green, past cross-screens from Andrew Bogut and off a curl from Harrison Barnes. He had 29 points in the second half.
This time, Whiteside, who led the National Basketball Association in blocked shots this season, left the game with six points and no rebounds in eight minutes. Those losses, combined with the breezy run to the 2015 title, give Golden State a full perspective on its playoff opponents: they’ve seen it all, losing to Hall of Famers and beating Hall of Famers, tasting bitter defeat and sweet champagne. Golden State’s defense let them down on Saturday.
Curry’s post-practice shooting drills were downgraded from Area 51 experiment to viewable by local media. I just didn’t feel like we played with the desperation that’s necessary…. Damian Lillard got his points but C.J.
Welcome to the play-offs, Kyle Lowry.
Saturday’s other clash saw the Toronto Raptors beat the Miami Heat 95-91 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-final series.
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The Warriors had taken a 2-0 series lead, winning Game 2 after taking the Blazers’ best shot.
