Trail Blazers at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors had no problem scoring without MVP Stephen Curry in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals and put the focus on defense for most of the afternoon. The Portland Trail Blazers had no answers for the Warriors’ big bodies in the lane and on the perimeter and will try to make some changes before visiting Golden State for Game 2 on Tuesday.
The Warriors frustrated Portland guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum with a series of bigger defenders and funneled the action into the paint, where Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green were waiting. "I just told the guys that we got to come out with a defensive mindset and that's pretty much it," Green said in a postgame interview. "I think we can pretty much just stay solid and get good stuff on the offensive end, but against this team, we just got to come out with a defensive mindset when Steph's not out there." The Trail Blazers fell behind by 20 points in the first quarter and never managed to work their way back into the game before falling 118-106. “Certainly wasn’t the start we wanted,” Portland head coach Terry Stotts told reporters. “It was disappointing to get off to such a poor start. Our offense, we had trouble scoring. Their defense got into us. It was just — we struggled at both ends, and probably more so on the offensive end, which fed into their defense.”
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS: Portland got a break in the first round when Los Angeles Clippers stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin went down in Game 4 and was hoping to get a jump on the Warriors before a possible return from Curry (knee) later in the series. “We got beat pretty soundly in Game 1 against the Clippers and we made some adjustments, we played a little bit better and got better as the series went along, and we need to do the same thing,” Stotts said. “So we’ll watch the video, see what we can come up with for Game 2. But there’s no question that we have to play better and learn from Game 1 like we did with the Clippers.” Lillard finished with 30 points but struggled to 8-of-26 from the field while McCollum managed 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Klay Thompson buried seven 3-pointers en route to a game-high 37 points and Green took care of almost everything else while piling up 23 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, three blocks and a steal in 37 minutes. “I just want to play as myself and to my strengths,” Thompson told reporters. “I don’t have the handle and creativity that (Curry) does, so I’ve got to get it differently. I’ve got to use my teammates. These guys set great screens and I got in a great rhythm.” Thompson is 21-of-36 from 3-point range in the last three games – becoming the first player in NBA history with at least seven 3-pointers in three straight playoff games - and spent plenty of time chasing Lillard around on Sunday in a solid defensive performance.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors reserve C Anderson Varejao and Trail Blazers reserve G Gerald Henderson were both ejected from Game 1 after twice drawing offsetting technical fouls.
2. Curry is hoping to practice this week and could return as soon as Game 3 on Saturday.
3. Portland went 7-of-24 on shots within three feet of the rim in Game 1.