Trail Blazers at Warriors
The Portland Trail Blazers outlasted the Denver Nuggets in seven games in the Western Conference finals to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000. The Trail Blazers' reward is a date with the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors, who got a few extra days to rest after knocking off the Houston Rockets in six games.
Despite the extra time off after Friday's Game 6, reports indicate that superstar forward Kevin Durant (calf) will miss at least one game of the series, but the Warriors still have plenty of confidence forging ahead without him for a few more days after watching Stephen Curry score all 33 of his points in the second half to key the clinching win over Houston. "It did not surprise me one bit," Golden State guard Klay Thompson told reporters of Curry's performance. "The man is a competitor, a champion, and on top of all that he just plays with such great heart. He's our leader. His composure is unbelievable as well." Portland got its own outstanding performance from a guard in the clinching game when CJ McCollum went for 37 points in Sunday's 100-96 triumph at Denver. "This is arguably the biggest win that we've had in the franchise for a long time," Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts told reporters. "To be a part of it, to do it the way we did, I'm thrilled. I'm really happy for our guys."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS: All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, who clinched the first-round series win over Oklahoma City with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, went 3-of-17 from the floor on Sunday but contributed 10 rebounds and eight assists while shifting the focus of the offense to McCollum. McCollum, who averaged 32 points in the four wins over the Nuggets, went 17-of-29 from the floor in the decisive win. "It's a luxury to have two guys like that who can find ways to score in different ways," Stotts told reporters. "CJ does it one way, Dame does it another. On a night where Dame struggled shooting, CJ came up big. That's being part of a team. Most of the time one of them is going to have something going, so you count on that. It was CJ tonight."
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Golden State can point to a similar relationship between the stars in its backcourt after watching Thompson carry the team in the first half of Game 6 before Curry took over down the stretch. Curry could find himself matched up in the conference finals against younger brother and Portland reserve guard Seth Curry, but the Warriors are glad to have the older brother on their side. "He's a guy who can make some plays that leave you scratching your head - the fouls, some of the turnovers ... but sometimes he just makes plays and you kinda look around and think, 'What is he doing?' But most of the time, he makes these incredible plays, and he's just fearless," Golden State coach Steve Kerr told reporters of Stephen Curry. "And that's what makes him who he is."
WALK-OFFS
1. Trail Blazers SG Rodney Hood (knee) left Sunday's game and is day-to-day.
2. Golden State SF Andre Iguodala went 5-of-8 from 3-point range and scored a 2019 postseason-high 17 points in Friday's Game 6.
3. The teams split the four-game season series, with each earning one road victory.