NBA Playoffs 2018-19: 3 Talking Points from Portland Trail Blazers vs Golden State Warriors, Game 1
The defending champions Golden State Warriors squared off against the Portland Trail Blazers in the game 1 of the Western Conference finals. The Warriors ended with an easy victory, by the scoreline of 116-94.
This was despite the fact that they were without Kevin Durant again. Durant is expected to be re-evaluated later this week.
The Warriors started off nicely against the Blazers. Towards the end of the first half, Steph Curry hit two consecutive three pointers to put the Warriors up by 9 at halftime.
The Blazers stuck with the Warriors for the entirety of the third quarter but they lost steam towards the start of the fourth, which made it a rather one-sided encounter.
Let's have a look at the key talking points from this match:
#3 Poor outing for the Blazers back court duo
The Blazers need their back court duo, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, to be at their absolute best if they want to have any chance of beating the Warriors. But the two put in very disappointing performances in game 1.
Lillard made his first two shots of the match, but then turned very cold. He eventually ended the match with 19 points and 6 assists on a very inefficient 4-12 shooting from the field.
McCollum was the star in Game 7 against the Nuggets. But he struggled to make an impact against the Warriors and finished with just 17 points on 7-19 shooting from the field.
It must be said though that Klay Thompson did a great job on the defensive end. He made it very difficult for the Blazers back court duo to get their shots off.
The only thing that kept the Blazers in this match till the end of the third quarter was their huge advantage on the free throw line.