The Golden State Warriors made light work of the Portland Trail Blazers in their Western Conference Semifinal Game 1 showdown on Sunday. They won 118-106 after another impressive performance.
Steve Kerr’s team has showed the NBA that they are not a one-man team.
Stephen Curry remained out due to his injured knee, but that meant more time and more ball for a few of his teammates.
Klay Thompson, in particular, has been simply phenomenal leading the team. He scored 37 points, had five assists and two steals in this crucial Game 1. He had scored 22 points by halftime and the Trail Blazers had no answer to his shooting game as he continued scoring after the break.
Thompson wasn’t the only solid performer for Golden State, Draymond Green was huge. He was all over Portland. He ended the night with a triple-double, scoring 23 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
Green was born for games and occasions like these. Both he and Thompson raised their games to get the job done at home in Game 1.
Portland were ice cold for long stretches of the game as their main players struggled on the floor. Damian Lillard found his range late on and finished with 30 points as he returned to his hometown of Oakland.
Al-Farouq Aminu was one of the best performers for the Trail Blazers as the Nigerian scored 15 points and pulled down five boards.
The Warriors’ defence was an important part of their victory. They only allowed CJ McCollum 12 points with Mason Plumlee restricted to a solitary point all game.
Portland couldn’t keep the hosts out of the game as Golden State pulled down 16 offensive rebounds. That was another reason Kerr’s men came out on top. They were bossing the boards and making their chances count.
For the most part it was an evenly tempered contest. However, Anderson Varejao and Gerald Henderson were both ejected from the game after picking up a pair of technical fouls each as they faced off after an on-court incident. The two kept trading words long after the initial coming together and early showers were on the cards.
This was an excellent start for the champions as they continue their quest to repeat title wins.
From this evidence Golden State have found a formula that shows they can get victories without the Curry. They’ll hope they don’t have to though, but it’s looking good for them all the same.
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