Category: NBA

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors downed the Portland Trailblazer 119-117 to sweep the Western Conference Finals. They now advance to the NBA Finals for the fifth consecutive year. They join the Boston Celtics as they and the Celtics are the only teams to reach the Finals for five seasons in a row.

The Warriors won their fifth game in a row with superstar Kevin Durant on the sidelines. DeMarcus Cousins, who injured a quadriceps muscle in the series against the LA Clippers was not available either. Andre Iguodala hurt his calf in Game Three in Portland and was questionable for Monday’s game. Warriors coach Steve Kerr opted to not play Andre. Kerr made changes in the starting lineup, and they paid off as the W’s won. It was not easy as they had to do it in overtime, but they did it.

The Blazers who had a 17-point lead in game two, and an eighteen-point point in game three, were able to gain a 17-point advantage in game four. The Blazers’ Damian Lillard, who suffered a rib injury and wasn’t at his best in games 2 and 3, was determined to play better and lead his team to a win. Blazers’ head coach, Terry Stotts, shuffled his lineup and inserted seven-foot-one -inch Meyers Leonard in the lineup. Leonard, who was averaging about six points a game, had the game of his life. He scored twenty-five points in the first half and knocked down five threes.

The Warriors, without Andre Iguodala, started forwards Jordan Bell and Alfonzo McKinnie. It was the first time that either player ever started an NBA Playoff game. The Warriors were hoping the “next man up” philosophy would work and it did.

The first period was very fast and furious. Both teams raced up and down the court. There were nine lead changes in the first quarter alone. The Warriors finished the period with a slim 36-35 lead. Steph Curry had 12, and Klay Thompson added 10 to pace the Warrior attack. Portland’s Meyers Leonard put 14 on the board, and CJ McCollum had 8, and Lillard added 7.

The Blazers, behind Leonard, McCollum, and Lillard outscored the W’s 34-29 to finish the first half leading 69-65. They led by eleven 66-55 late in the second period. Steph Curry made two three and a deuce to end the half trailing 69-65.

The Blazers knew it was now or never. They knew that they had to put away the Warriors. They knew that the Warriors had come back from significant deficits in game 2 and 3. They knew that if they hoped to win, they had to shut down the W’s offense and, at the same time, find a way to break down the Warriors defense. They held Draymond Green to just two points in the first half. Without Iguodala, could Draymond do it again? He answered the question. Yes, he did it again. The Blazers led 98-78 late in the third quarter. The Warriors scored the last eight points of the quarter to trail by eight 95-87. The Warriors knew that they had work to do in the final period, but an eight-point deficit is not impossible to overcome.

Curry hit a three to start the fourth quarter. Portland hit two-threes to go up by eleven 101-90. The Warriors defense started to throttle the Blazers’ offense. The Warriors went on a 14-3 run to tie the game at 104. Portland’s Rod Hood made a bucket, but Kevon Looney countered with one of his own to tie it at 106. Draymond gave the W’s the lead 108-106. Lillard made a three and Leonard added a bucket to put Portland ahead 111-108. Klay Thompson knocked down a three to tie it, and the game went to overtime.

The Warriors fell behind 115-114. Alfonzo McKinnie made a bucket to give the W’s the lead 116-115. Draymond Green made his only three-pointer of the game to provide the W’s their most significant lead of the night 119-115. Lillard connected on a two-point shot to close the gap to two 119-117. Neither team could relax. With 3.3 seconds left, Portland had the ball. If they made a two-point bucket, they would have tied the game and forced another 5-minute overtime period. If they made a three, they would have won. The Warriors held on, and Portland could not get off a shot. The Warriors win and end the Blazers’ season.

Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors bench players all performed well in Monday night’s win. Jordan Bell had seven, Alfonzo McKinnie was in double figures with 12. Kevon Looney continued his excellent play. He had a double-double with 12 points 14 rebounds. He, again, did a superb job getting offensive rebounds. Klay Thompson had 17, and he was tasked with trying to shut down Portlands CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard. The Warriors had another first as they had two players that had a triple-double. Draymond Green, held to two points in the first half, finished the night with 18 points, 14 boards, and 11 assists. Step Curry had his fifth game in a row with 30 or more points. He tallied 37 and had 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Shay Livingston added 8, coming off the bench.

Meyers Leonard led Portland with 30 points and 12 rebounds. McCollum finished with 26. Damian Lillard had a double-double for Portland with 28 points, 4 rebounds, and 12 assists. Zach Collins was the other Blazer in double figures with 10.

The Warriors outrebounded the Blazers 55-28 The W’s had 15 offensive rebounds. Portland had six. The Warriors had 10 steals and 5 blocks.

The Warriors will now have a few days off as they await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Milwaukee Bucks lead the Series 2-1. Game four will be played in Toronto Tuesday night.

Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors again showed what they have hearts of lions as they clawed their way back from a poor first half to down the Portland Trailblazers 114-111 at Oracle Arena Thursday night.

The Warriors blew out the Blazers in Game 1. Many pundits said that the Warriors will win the series in five, while others thought the Warriors might sweep the Blazers. However, games are played on the court, not on paper. People have to remember that the Blazers are a professional basketball team that finished with the third best record in the Western Conference. They have an outstanding backcourt of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard. The Blazers knew that they had to outplay the Warriors on both ends of the court. They put 65 points on the board in the first half and held the Warriors to 50. They made 11 threes in the first half. Steph Curry led the Warriors with 19, but no other Warrior starter was in double figures.

The first quarter was fairly even as Portland finished with a two-point advantage 31-29. The second quarter belonged to Portland as they outscored the Warriors 34-21 to finish with a 15-point lead 65-50. The Blazers had hoped to steal a game in Oakland and return home to Portland with the series tied at one apiece.

The Warriors had to regroup and figure out what they had to do to slow down Portland and come back to win the game. Portland made the first basket of the second half to increase the lead to 67-50. Steph Curry made a three, and the Blazers hit a two to lead 69-53. At this point, the Warriors went on a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to three 69-66. Portland refused to wilt, and they maintained the lead 75-74. Klay Thompson drained a three and the Warriors had their first lead since the first quarter when they led 8-6. The Warriors offense, paced by Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, had help from an unexpected source, Jordan Bell. Bell, who had played sparingly in the playoffs, had his best game of the season. The Warriors were up by five until Portland regrouped and they were able to finish the third quarter tied 89-89. The Warriors won the quarter 39-24, but still had 12 minutes left to play.

In the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers put the pressure on the Warriors. Portland’s offense came to life, and they had a 108-100 lead with five minutes left to play. Portland’s Seth Curry, Steph Curry’s younger brother, knocked down two threes in the quarter that propelled the Blazers into the lead.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts had his team concentrate on double-teaming Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The Warriors had seen teams use this defense before.

Players such as Andre Iguodala and Kevon Looney made buckets as time was winding down. Looney made a bucket to bring the Warriors close 108-107. Steph Curry then made a three to put the Warriors up 110-108. Portland hit a three and led 111-110. Looney connected on a lob from Draymond Green, and Green made a bucket to put the Warriors ahead 114-111 with 12.3 seconds left. The Blazers knew they had to make a three to tie the game. They wanted the ball in either Lillard or McCollum’s hands. Lillard had the ball and was making his move when Iguodala slapped the ball out of his hands and stole the ball to secure the 114-111 win for Golden State.

Game Notes and Stats: Steph Curry led the Warriors with 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. He made four threes in 14 tries. Klay Thompson had 24. Draymond had a double-double with 16 points, 10 boards, seven assists and blocked five shots. Jordan Bell had 11, and Kevon Looney knocked down 14 and had seven boards. Jonas Jerebko did not score, but he did have seven rebounds while on the court. Andre Iguodala had four points, five rebounds and five assists.

Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 23. He had five rebounds, 10 assists, and he connected on five threes. CJ McCollum had 22 points and three threes. Seth Curry finished with 16 points and made four threes.

Up Next: The Warriors and Trail Blazers meet for Game 3 in Portland Saturday night. Game time will be at 6 pm.

Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still without the services of Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, rolled over the Portland Trail Blazers 116-94 Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors finished off the Houston Rockets last Friday night and had a few days to recover from that grueling series. The Blazers, on the other hand, had to play in Denver on Sunday and flew to the Bay Area after the game. They did not practice Monday and did not have shoot-around on Tuesday.

The Warriors were tasked with shutting down Portland’s two backcourt aces, C.J. McCollum, and Damian Lillard. Lillard, an Oakland native, loves to play at Oracle and has averaged 27 points a game against the Warriors. McCollum is also a scorer who is capable of making threes. The Warriors wanted their Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry, to get into the flow of the game early so that they could lead the team to the win.

The Warriors and Blazers played a low-scoring first half. The Warriors led 27-23 after the first 12 minutes of action. The finished the first half with a nine-point lead 54-45. Curry made two-threes late in the period to give the Warriors the advantage.

The Blazers won the third quarter 26-23 to cut the lead to six after three quarters of action. The Warriors led by 17, 70-53, but the Blazers’ offense came to life and rallied to end the period trailing by six.

The Warriors used their second unit to start the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson was on the floor with Jonas Jerebko, Shaun Livingston, Quinn Cook, and Kevon Looney. Klay hit two buckets and two threes. Cook knocked down two threes, while Jerebko hit a bucket and was a force on defense. By the time Steph Curry and Draymond Green returned to the floor, the Warriors were in total command and cruised to the 116-94 victory.

Game Notes: Steph Curry led the Warriors with 36 points. He connected on nine threes in 15 attempts. Klay Thompson had 26 points. Draymond Green finished with a double-double. He had 12 points, 10 boards, and five assists. Jonas Jerebko had nine points, Quinn Cook had eight points, and Kevon Looney had six.

Damian Lillard had 19 points for Portland. McCollum and Mo Harkless each had 17 points. Rod Hood, coming off the bench, added 17 points.

The Warriors defense held Portland to 36% from the floor. The Blazers made seven threes in 28 attempts. The Warriors knocked down 17 threes. The Warriors had 13 steals and eight blocks and forced Portland into 21 turnovers.

Up Next: Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be Thursday night at Oracle Arena. Game time will be at 6 pm.