In what was expected to be one of the more one-sided series of the 2017 NBA Playoffs first round, the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers put on a show in Game 1. However, this matchup wasn’t one to brush off as the teams came in hot, both pacing the league in victories since March 1st with 17.
In the inaugural game of the one seed vs. the eight seed matchup out in the Western Conference, the Warriors were able to pull away in the final period thanks to their elite defensive play. On the afternoon, Kevin Durant was the one who led the way for Golden State putting up 32 points and 10 rebounds while Portland’s C.J. McCollum exploded for 41.
Coming into today, Portland was without their best big man, Jusuf Nurkic, who was acquired at the trade deadline and has improved the play of this Blazers team dramatically, as they had gone 14-6 when the center was active.
The game started off with a high-scoring first quarter which saw the Warriors put up 32 points but the dynamic backcourt duo of McCollum and point guard Damian Lillard made sure the Trailblazers hung in there, accounting for 24 of the team’s 27 points in the period. As the game progressed, it was McCollum who started to really heat up in the second quarter and played like a man possessed. With the Warriors uncharacteristically sloppy and struggling in the turnover department, Portland was able to knot the game up heading into halftime, 58-58 behind McCollum’s franchise-record tying 27 points.
CJ McCollum tied a Blazers franchise playoff record for most points in a half with 27#RIPCity pic.twitter.com/UoD0WN1mAi
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 16, 2017
The second half got off to a back and forth start, but the third quarter was when two-time MVP Stephen Curry began to make his mark on the game, attacking the rack and finishing with a myriad of finesse moves en route to a 14-point quarter. Not only did Steph find his flow, but Defensive Player of the Year candidate Draymond Green came alive as well,. Prior to the game, Portland head coach Terry Stotts decided to tinker with his starting lineup and start Moe Harkless at power forward, interested to see how he fared against Green. In short, Harkless got exposed as Green dominated much of the second half with stout defensive plays at the rim and finished with a well-rounded stat line of 19 points, 12 rebounds 9 assists, 5 blocks, and 3 steals.
Looks like Draymond Green heard people left him off their DPOY ballot…
Oh. My. pic.twitter.com/9ct7MIqOBo
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 16, 2017
Draymond Green with another ridiculous block and it leads to a KD layup. Absurd. #DubNation pic.twitter.com/YZVxRRg0Zq
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 16, 2017
Both teams put up an even 30 in the third resulting in another deadlock heading into the final period. In the fourth, things began to swing the Warriors way as they started to clamp down on Lillard and McCollum. Their premier defense stymied the high-powered Portland attack, limiting them to only 21 points in the period as they took game 1 121-109.
Curry finished with 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists while off-guard Klay Thompson did his usual two-way work and chipped in 15 points of his own. Lillard and McCollum did plenty of damage on their own, putting up 34 and 41, respectively. With the Warriors fresh off a championship run last season and expected to be right there till the very end again, they’ll look to keep this momentum going in Game 2 on Wednesday at 10:30 PM.
