Turnovers Kill Blazers In WCF Game 1
Without Kevin Durant for the second straight game, Golden State played championship level defense and took advantage of Portland turnovers.
The Blazers had 13 first half turnovers, and the Warriors scored 20 points off them.
Overall, Golden State scored 31 points off 21 Blazer giveaways, which helped propel the Warriors to a 116-94 Game 1 win.
CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard struggled in the game. McCollum started 3-of-13 shooting, and finished 7-of-19 with 17 points.
Lillard struggled with turnovers, like most of the team, but he led Portland with 7 turnovers. He also shot just 4-of-12 from the floor, but 9 made free throws helped Lillard lead the team with 19 points.
Terry Stotts will need to make adjustments, and we’ll see how quickly he goes to Rodney Hood and Zach Collins in Game 2.
Hood, 17 points, and Collins, 8 points and 4 boards, did what they could, but it was not enough to overcome Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Curry led all scorers with 36, while Thompson had 26 points.
Al-Farouq Aminu was terrible in 19 minutes, 1-of-3 shooting for 3 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
Moe Harkless did well for himself, however, with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, with 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, a steal and an assist.
Game 1 went Golden State’s way, what will Game 2 hold? Find out Thursday, 6 p.m. tip-off, ESPN-TV. The Last Quarter with Peter Sampson to follow on 102.9/750 The Game.