His backcourt counterpart, Damian Lillard, was a non-factor in the final 12 minutes, going 0-of-3 with no points. The Warriors run away with it in the end, outscoring the Blazers 34-12 in the period and sending Portland on a long plane ride home. He had 17 of his 25 points in the third. They kept trying to go inside, with a shooting percentage for the match of only just over 40, a rebound margin of ten, and centre Mason Plumlee shooting zero of seven from the field.
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“It’s very important we don’t give up just layups early in the game”, Bogut said.
The Blazers came out defending well from the tip unlike Game 1, as the Warriors missed eight of their first 10 shots and Portland took a 17-5 lead midway through the first quarter. Curry won the Magic Johnson Award, given by the Professional Basketball Writers Association to an NBA player who combines excellence on the court with cooperation with the public and media….
Golden State made 7-of-8 uncontested shots in the fourth quarter. “They’re the kind of team, they’re going to stay with it. They’ve got such great shot-makers, they’re always going to be on your tail, so our defense has to be locked in for 48 minutes”. Andre Igudala once again proved his value, finishing with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals from 32 minutes off the bench.
Klay Thompson scored a game-high 27 points, and Draymond Green had 17 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists.
Green’s timeout signal immediately reminded me of another epic Portland collapse – this one in Game 7 against the Lakers in the 2000 playoffs.
Before Game 1 against Portland, Curry said he hoped to return for Game 3 on Saturday. The Warriors’ 110-99 win on Tuesday suggests an easy victory. He’s capable, as we well know, for going off for 51 points coming out of the All-Star break at home against Golden State.
After McCollum and Allen Crabbe stabilized the Trail Blazers with a pair of hoops to expand the lead back to nine, Golden State immediately countered with a nine-point flurry to draw even for the first time since 3-3 on a Thompson 3-pointer with 6:44 to go.
Even though the Warriors are up 2-0, the overriding point was clear: the Blazers are not a team to mess around with. Warriors coach Steve Kerr labeled the finish of Monday’s Oklahoma City-San Antonio game “bizarre” while also noting it was “enjoyable to watch.”…
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But, in spite of Warriors’ dominance Portland Blazers did not give up. “I’m constantly a little disappointed by Damian Lillard….” Between the both of them, they only combined for one shot from the field in the first quarter on Sunday (Lillard 1-6, McCollum 0-2). And with all the spacing Golden State has when it unleashes the Death Lineup, there isn’t an efficient way to help on Livingston. Game 2 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers had a much different feel to it than Game 1 did.
