----- Steph Curry scores 37 points and Andre Igoudala comes up with a game-clinching steal as the Golden State Warriors take a 2-0 series lead with a 114-111 victory of the Trail Blazers Thursday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
The game that got away.
Trailing by as many as 17-points in the first half, the Golden State Warriors used a furious run in the third and some strong defense in the final moments to hold-off the Portland Trail Blazers 114-111 Thursday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland. The win gives the Warriors a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference Finals series with game three coming up Saturday night at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
The Blazers took a 108-100 lead with 4:28 to play on a Meyers Leonard three-pointer, but the Warriors responded with a 14-3 run to close out the game.
Stephen Curry gave the Warriors a 110-108 with 2:01 to play after being fouled on a three-point attempt by Damian Lillard, sinking all three free throws. Portland quickly regained the advantage at 111-110 after a Seth Curry three-pointer, but the Warriors scored the final four points of the game on a dunk from Kevon Looney and a layup by Draymond Green.
Portland had a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining, but Damian Lillard was stripped by Andre Igoudala as he was preparing himself to shoot a three and Steph Curry grabbed the ball and launched it in the air as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
“We stole that game,” Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the game. “I thought they outplayed us for ... the majority of the night. But we brought enough competitive fire in the second half to overcome their great play.”
With their third quarter run and strong finish in the fourth, the Warriors displayed their championship pedigree.
“They’ve been at this a long time," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "They’ve played a lot of games together. There isn’t anything they haven’t seen.”
The Blazers made a number of corrections after getting blown out in game one. They limited their turnovers with just (13), they made their threes (18-for-39, 46.2%), and they did a better job of defending the pick and roll.
Lillard led the Blazers with 23 points on 6-for-16 shooting and CJ McCollum added 22 but did not score in the fourth on 0-for-6 shooting.
Seth Curry led the bench with 16 points connecting on 4-for-7 from three-point range, Rodney Hood scored 12, and Meyers Leonard added seven points and six rebounds.
Steph Curry led Golden State with a game-high 37 points and Klay Thompson finished with 24. Draymond Green flirted with a triple-double finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Looney added 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Golden State dominated Portland with points-in-the-paint (54-32), rebounds (50-37), and second-chance points (25-14).
Notes- Durant will miss at least Games 3 and 4, scheduled to be re-examined by doctors in another week. That means he wouldn't be expected to return until the NBA Finals if Golden State advances.
Durant was re-evaluated Thursday and is not yet ready for on-court work - a necessary step before the two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP can return to game action.
Up Next- Game 3 will be Saturday night at Moda Center. Game is scheduled to tip off at 6:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Painful loss but well-played by the Trail Blazers.