As we asked ourselves if the Portland Trail Blazers had a chance against the Golden State Warriors, we watched Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals asking that same question with most people answering “Nope.” While the Trail Blazers kept things somewhat close, even going within six at the start of the fourth quarter, the Warriors were just too strong and held on to a 116-94 victory in Game 1.
The success of a non-Kevin Durant team relied on Steph Curry. Curry scored 36 and drained nine threes, falling just shy of breaking the record for most threes in a playoff game and getting the Warriors a great start to possibly three-peat. Curry capped off his night by sinking two consecutive threes at the end of the first half. Portland must’ve thought they were heading to the locker room just down by three. In just a few seconds, the Trail Blazers found themselves down by nine and made their journey to sneak a win even worse.
Steph not fair 😳 pic.twitter.com/8Gew03hEM2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 15, 2019
Steph’s family had some split allegiances. Parents Dell and Sonya were not only rooting for Steph, they were also rooting for Seth the younger brother of the Curry family. Playing for Portland, Seth finished with three points and just three rebounds but their parents were rooting for both.
Klay Thompson also had a good night, scoring 26. The Trail Blazers were a bit more even with their scoring, having five players hit double digits. But the Warriors had their top players score way more and that was the key.
Game 2 on Thursday will remain in California and Golden State will look to really put themselves in a position where they will be tough to beat. Beating them is tough enough and falling 1-0 is even worse. But if Portland goes down 2-0, that will certainly be too much to have to overcome.
