“Blazers in 6” is probably one of the most famous quotes of all time.
First off the Blazers came out firing on all cylinders. Scoring their first five buckets going up early to go up 11-3, but came out of the Golden State timeout to turn over the ball three times but still went to lead the first by seven. Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Noah Vonleh seemed to bask in their home opener and enjoyed all fruits of their labor. Lillard wasn’t backing down as he scored 22 (31 for the game) in the first half.
His counterpart McCollum came out scorching with 8 of the Blazers 11 points, but he would only have 15 for the half and finished with 32 for the game. Aminu (14), Vonleh (10), and Turner (17) all seemed excited about the Blazers run and return of big man Nurkic who was limited to 17 minutes but still walked away with 11 rebounds which are scary in a word.
The Warriors were without Steve Kerr in last night’s W because of an illness that has left his status unclear for said next game on Monday.
Without Kerr and also Durant, the Warriors seemingly struggled in the first half allowing 67 points. But all good things must come to an end. The Warriors routed another spectacular 3rd quarter led by Klay Thompson. Dropping four triples after having none in the first half; the Warriors defensive mindset helps them cut the lead to one going into the final quarter.
The 4th quarter was actually my favorite. McGee, Iguodala, Green, Curry and Thompson (a new form of the death lineup with Durant sidelined) had a great last quarter: lobs to McGee who finished with 14 (6-8 FG) off the bench, fast break dunks from Iguodala who finished with 17pts/3ast/7rebs in 36 minutes off the bench, half court dunks, scrappy offensive rebounds, poster dunks, steals and defensive boards helped Curry put the nail in the coffin. Hitting the biggest dagger of this first round so far with a pull back three on Vonleh and a nice separation move on Crabbe the next play. 30 finished with 34 in 39 minutes; along with eight assist and four boards.
Thompson huge third quarter energized this diminished Warriors team who was without three of their keys guys in Kerr (illness) Durant (calf) and Livingston (hand). Game 3 was nothing short of revealing. While it looked like the Blazers could pick up a game at home, the Warriors are just that much better than them and showed that they are still “light years ahead” of everybody including this Trail Blazers team.
There’s a lot more to be said but the basic as of the game was simply defense. Golden State turned theirs up and Blazers couldn’t keep them down. The Warriors are ready for game 4 in Portland where I believe they will close it to get rest and recovery for their guys. May the better team win.
Game 4 tips off on TNT at 10:30 EST
