The Golden State Warriors clamped down in the fourth quarter to pull away to a 121-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday in game one of their National Basketball Association playoff series.
The visiting Portland Trail Blazers backcourt shot the lights out of the Oracle Arena on Sunday afternoon, but it still wasn't enough to uppend the top-seeded Golden State Warriors, who had a huge fourth quarter en route to a 121-109 Game 1 victory. Yes, the Warriors took the best shot from Blazers guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum (a combined 75 points) in Game 1, and prevailed. McCollum had 41 points, eight rebounds, and one steal while Lillard contributed 34 points five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Nurkic missed the final seven games of the regular season with a nondisplaced fracture in his right leg.
Kevin Durant patted his chest after two big baskets in the fourth quarter and let everybody know "I got this!"
Coach Steve Kerr said Durant's injury happened in the game, when he had 32 points and 10 rebounds in his playoff debut with the Warriors. The Trail Blazers scored just 12 points in the third quarter and Curry went to work picking pockets.
Durant, acquired as a free agent after the Warriors' loss to the Cavs in last year's finals, connected on 12 of his 20 shots and also pulled down 10 rebounds. By the NBA's count, the Blazers had 46 open shots in Game 1 and made only 19 of them.
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Javale McGee was a difference maker yet again with 15 points and 4 blocks.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson's usage rates will rise if Durant sits, and history tells us that the Warriors are usually successful when the Splash Brothers are the focal points on offense. McCollum were awesome, combining for 75 points, but the Blazers got very little else and could not withstand the constant pressure the Warriors put on opponents. The Portland Trail Blazers are averaging 95 points on 38.3 percent shooting and allowing 115.5 points on 48.3 percent shooting. "And right now, Game 2, I'm not ready", Nurkic said Portland's practice session on Tuesday. Instead of assigning him impact to a player, they chopped it up, passed it around and ended up with a dominant 30-point win without a single player even scoring 20 points. Game 2, 7 p.m., NBA TV. Thompson's three 3-pointers gave him 200 in the postseason for his career, tying him with Scottie Pippen and Michael Finley tied for 14th with NBA's all-time list.
But now Golden State might have to try to continue the run without Durant. Of course, Durant was out for more than a month during the regular season, only returning with three games left on the schedule.
The Wizards, like the other home teams in tonight's games, will be looking to go up 2-0 on a Hawks team that appears to lack the necessary punch.
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