With the absence of Matt Barnes, Shaun Livingston and Kevin Durant in game two due to injuries, many fans were predicting to witness the Golden State Warriors at their most vulnerable. Instead, the Warriors turned it up a notch on the defensive end in their 110-81 victory at Oracle Arena in their first round matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers. Stephen Curry contributed with 19 points, Draymond had a fantastic all-around performance, and Javale McGee was a big impact off the pine.
Heading into Saturday's game three at Moda Center the home of the Portland Trail Blazers, the Golden State Warriors currently lead the best of seven series 2-0.
The Trail Blazers only after a few days of going toe-toe with the Warriors in the first three-quarters of game one were dominated despite the absence of Kevin Durant. The Trail Blazers shot a measly 33.3 percent from the field in total, which also included a 7-34 shooting effort from the three-point line, with the two teams both employing their second units for the final quarter of play.
It was a cakewalk for these Warriors
Stephen Curry did not once appear in the fourth quarter. However, Draymond Green (six points, 12 rebounds and ten assists) and Klay Thompson (16 points) only appeared shortly with the majority of the fourth quarter minutes going to the second unit. The Warriors' dominance came as a shock for those who were expecting a similar game to the first game of this series.
An added excitement of this victory by the Warriors was how they managed to do it. Kevin Durant who was a big factor in game one contributing with 32 points and 11 rebounds in Sunday's game 1 was absent due to a calf injury. The added absences of Barnes (foot) and Livingston (hand) meant the Warriors were missing three crucial rotation pieces.
In addition to this, the all-star trio of Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson all shot a poor percentage from the field. The Golden State Warriors' trio made just 13 of their 40 shot attempts combined. Rather it was the bench trio of Andre Iguodala, Ian Clark, and Javale McGee who took good pleasure of the absence of Jusuf Nurkic for the second straight game in this series.
McGee in his 13 minutes of play finished with a stat line of 15 points, five rebounds and four blocks.
The Blazers failed to capitalize on opportunities
It is of satisfaction to add, that social media was impressed with the contributions of the Golden State Warriors' second unit Ian Clark contributed with 13 points off the bench, and Andre Iguodala ended with a stat line of six points, ten rebounds and six assists. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum who performed exceptionally well in Game 1, could not back up their performance on Wednesday. The duo finished with a combined effort of 23 points on 9-of-34 field goal attempts, only days after carrying the Trail Blazers with a combined 75 points.
Maurice Harkless scored a team-high 15 points for the Portland Trail Blazers.
While a series is never over until it's over, an experience these Golden State Warriors have suffered. There is no doubt a massive momentum shift needed for these Trail Blazers to stand a chance. They have had multiple opportunities already in these first two games, in game one letting the Warriors run away in the fourth quarter of going toe to toe with them in the first three-quarters, and also in game 2 with Kevin Durant out due to an injury.
It is unknown if Kevin Durant will return for game three series, but it seems like all these Portland Trail Blazers can do is hope that they do not suffer a series sweep at the hand of the Golden State Warriors.
