Portland Trail Blazers vs Golden State Warriors Box Score on Apr 19, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Apr 20, 2017

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors tightened the defensive screws with star forward Kevin Durant out of the lineup, limiting the Portland Trail Blazers to 12 points in a decisive third quarter en route to a run-away, 110-81 victory in Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

The teams will travel to Portland for the next two meetings in the best-of-seven, with the Warriors taking a 2-0 lead into Game 3 on Saturday.

Durant missed the game with what the Warriors have labeled a minor calf strain.

Golden State recorded its 11th straight home win over the Trail Blazers and 12th win in their last 13 meetings, including a 4-1 triumph in last year's Western semifinals.

Stephen Curry had 19 points and backcourt mate Klay Thompson added 16 as the Warriors won easily despite scoring 11 fewer points than in their 121-109 win in Game 1.

The game was won on the Warriors' defensive end of the floor, where the Trail Blazers were harassed into 33.7 percent shooting overall and a 7-for-34 night (21.2 percent) on 3-pointers.

Portland's standout backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, which combined for 75 points on 28-for-54 shooting in Sunday's series opener, struggled to connect on just 9-of-34 in the rematch.

Lillard, who missed all four of his 3-point attempts, finished with 12 points. McCollum, just 1-for-3 on threes, had 11. Forward Moe Harkless led the Trail Blazers with 15 points.

Portland once again played without center Jusuf Nurkic, who is sidelined with a stress fracture in his right knee.

The Golden State defense was particularly destructive in the third period, when the Trail Blazers missed 16 of 22 shots, allowing the Warriors to extend a 55-46 halftime lead to 83-58.

Lillard (1-for-8) and McCollum (1-for-5) were held to a total of four points in the period.

Meanwhile, Curry, who had shot just 2-for-9 in the first half, finally caught fire, nailing three 3-pointers while single-handedly outscoring the Trail Blazers 13-12.

JaVale McGee made all seven of his shots, good for 15 points, in 13 minutes. Draymond Green had a 12-rebound, 10-assist double-double to go with six points, and Andre Iguodala grabbed 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who shot 43.3 percent overall and 10-for-32 (29.0 percent) on 3-pointers.

Green's 12 rebounds and 10 assists were both game-highs.

Harkless had a team-high eight rebounds to complement his 15 points and Evan Turner dished off a team-high seven assists for the Trail Blazers, who are facing the top-seeded team in West for the third time in the last four years.

NOTES: The Warriors went 15-4 during SF Kevin Durant's 19-game absence during the regular season. ... Asked before the game why his team wouldn't play Durant (strained left calf) in a playoff game with an injury that's not considered serious, Warriors coach Steve Kerr retorted, "It's not worth it. If we throw him out there and he pulls it and he's out a few weeks, you'd feel like an idiot." ... Trail Blazers PG Damian Lillard was held under 25 for the first time in his last eight playoff games. He had tied SG Clyde Drexler's franchise record of seven straight with 25 or more when he tallied 34 in Game 1. ... The postseason appearance was the 66th for Warriors SG Klay Thompson, tying SF Rick Barry for second on Golden State's all-time list. SG Jeff Mullins is the leader with 77. ... Thompson's three 3-pointers gave him 200 in the postseason for his career, tying him with Scottie Pippen and Michael Finley tied for 14th with NBA's all-time list.