Golden State Warriors hold edge over Portland Trail Blazers

May 16, 2019 06:00 am

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson dominated their highly anticipated match-up with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, combining for 12 three-pointers and 62 points in the Golden State Warriors' 116-94 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals yesterday morning (Singapore time).

Curry finished with a game-high 36 points and Thompson added 26 for the Warriors, who won a second consecutive game without star forward Kevin Durant, out due to a bruised right calf.

Curry shot nine-for-15 on three-point attempts, Thompson went three-for-nine from beyond the arc.

Back-up Quinn Cook mixed in two timely treys to quell the Trail Blazers' last threat, pushing Golden State a game up on a team they dominated 4-1 and 4-0 in the 2016 and 2017 play-offs, respectively.

Lillard shot just four-for-12 en route to a team-high 19 points. McCollum added 17 points for the Trail Blazers, who were facing a fresh team that had enjoyed three days off after eliminating the Houston Rockets in Game 6 on Saturday.

The Warriors' lead was just 79-73 at the start of the fourth quarter, before Cook hit his two three-pointers, helping Golden State go back up by 14. The three-point discrepancy proved too much for the Trail Blazers to overcome. Portland will travel tothe Oracle Arena for Game 2 tomorrow. - REUTERS