Written by Sean Wagner-McGough at CBSSports.com
The Portland Trail Blazers lost Game 1 of their first-round series to the top-seeded Golden State Warriors, but in the process found a winning recipe: have Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combine for 75 points on 51.8 percent shooting.
Unfortunately for Portland (and every other playoff team, all of whom would love to see the Warriors begin their summer vacation a month early), it’s just not a sustainable strategy. After letting the top-heavy Blazers hang around for three quarters, the Warriors blitzed them in the final quarter, using a total team effort to stymie the Blazers, turning a close game into a double-digit victory.
On Sunday at Oracle Arena, the Warriors fought off the eighth-seeded Blazers in Game 1 to win 121-109. It certainly wasn’t easy. The Blazers gave the Warriors their best punch, and then the Warriors rendered that punch unworthy.
“It was to me the perfect way to win Game 1,” Steve Kerr said. “You get a real taste for what you’re up against. You take a really good punch from your opponent. You see how good they are, but you’re able to overcome everything and still get the win. So I like it.”
At halftime, the score was deadlocked at 56 and the atmosphere was contentious, as Draymond Green engaged in what I imagine were some not-so-polite chats with members of the Blazers as they headed back to the locker room. Even though the game was played at Oracle, the Warriors really didn’t have much of a right to be talking, because they had no answers for the Blazers’ backcourt.
At that point, the score was Warriors 56, Lillard/McCollum 48 (which means the Blazers’ other players combined for eight points).
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