FanPost

Thompson & Green Help Golden State Dominate Portland in Game One

Golden State registered another impressive display without MVP Stephen Curry as they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 118-106 at Oracle Arena. The NBA defending champions host the Trail Blazers in game two on Tuesday and will hope to take a 2-0 series lead to Portland. The Warriors are expected to welcome back point guard Curry in either game three or four of the Playoff series. The NBA's leading scorer watched from the sidelines as his team came out firing from the tip-off, winning the opening quarter 37-17. The Warriors never looked back and led the game through all four quarters as they clinched their third straight victory.

Klay Thompson and Draymond Green led the way for the Warriors. Thompson scored a Playoff career-high 37 points, as he made seven three-pointers for the third consecutive game. The Warriors shooting guard is now 21 for 36 from behind the arc in his last three games and is fourth in the post-season scoring (25.7PPG). Thompson was also a menace to Damian Lillard and C.J.McCollum as Golden State held Portland's star back-court pair to 13 of 43 shooting.

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Draymond Green registered the second triple-double of his Playoff career as he scored 23 points, made 13 rebounds, 11 assists, and three blocks. Green struck twice from behind the arc and made all nine of his free-throws, but it was his active defence that should make the headlines. Portland center Mason Plumlee failed to score a field goal, as he struggled to penetrate through the enigmatic Green and Australian Andrew Bogut. Speaking to ESPN after the game, Green credited his team's defensive effort in the game one victory.

"We got it done on the defensive end tonight. Big fella (Bogut) was great and protected the rim for us. We made it tough on Lillard and CJ (McCollum). They dominate their scoring and rightly so, they've been great all year. But we believe if we can make them take tough shots throughout this series we can wear them down."

"When Steph's out there, we can go toe-to-toe with anybody on offense and have the advantage. Against this team we just have to come out with a defensive mindset and stay solid while Steph's out."

Bogut was a towering presence at center as he made 12 rebounds, 10 points, and three blocks. Harrison Barnes also contributed to the all-around team performance with a double-double as he compiled 12 rebounds and 10 points.

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The Trail Blazers, fresh off an impressive 4-2 series victory over the Los Angeles Clippers were met with a determined Warriors performance. Golden State demonstrated a combination of vigorous defence, intelligent ball movement and converting open shots as they swept to victory.

Damian Lillard scored 30 points for the visitors despite his 8 of 26 shooting from the field. It was a far-cry from his explosive 51 point night in the Trail Blazers 30-point victory over the Warriors in the regular season, when he converted 9 of 12 three-pointers. The 137-105 defeat, one of just nine in the regular season for Golden State (73-9), left head coach Steve Kerr in no doubt of the offensive capabilities of Portland's frontcourt.

Speaking to ESPN, he said "Defense is the key against these guys. They are a tremendous offensive team and are hard to guard. They spread you out so much with their shooting that there's a lot of open lanes."

"It helped us to have to play most of the Houston series without Steph. We got into a good groove in games three and four of that series and we carried that into tonight."

Kerr was full of praise for his dynamic forward Draymond Green, stating "He's always been emotionally invested. What's happened with Draymond now is he's turned the corner with his decision making. Without Steph our margin for error is smaller, and Draymond understand's that. The game we lost he had seven turnovers, the rest have been two or less. He's taking no unnecessary risks, making simple plays and he's been phenomenal."

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Kerr remains undefeated in game one of a playoff series (6-0) and now owns the best post-season record of any NBA head coach (21-6). The former Chicago Bulls NBA champion had two extra days to prepare his team for the series after the Warriors defeated Houston 4-1 in round one. The defending Champions were well prepared, energetic and full of confidence in the series opener. If Golden State increase their lead on Tuesday, and head to Portland with a healthy Stephen Curry, a much-anticipated Western Conference Final with the San Antonio Spurs might well be forthcoming.

Analysis

This was as good a defensive performance as Golden State could have wished for. Lillard and McCullom took 43 shots, making just 13. 32 of those shots were contested, of which they made just eight. The Warriors turned the ball over a reasonable 12 times and beat their opponents in almost every team statistic.

Draymond Green continues to lead this team in Curry's absence, putting in another vintage display of effort, skill and durability. He is fourth in assists (7.3APG), seventh in rebounding (10.2RPG), ninth in blocks (1.7BPG) and twentieth in steals (1.3SPG) in the post-season rankings. If Curry doesn't become the first unanimous MVP later this week, it might just be his teammate's fault.

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Klay Thompson had another impressive scoring night with 37, and although Green's stat line was extraordinary, Thompson's consistency without Curry should not be overlooked. Thompson is averaging 29 points per game in the post-season with Curry sidelined. As he outscored Portland 18-17 in the first quarter, the Blazers began to double team Thompson frequently. This allowed the shooting guard to display his passing ability, moving the ball and finding the open man with five assists.

Ultimately, this was another excellent team display, though Thompson and Green were imperative to the Warriors performance. Portland is now under pressure, as Golden State will look to increase their series advantage before they welcome back Curry. The Blazers won't lie down like Houston, expect a much-improved performance in game two.

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!