LOS ANGELES: Stephen Curry drained nine three-pointers on the way to 36 points Tuesday to propel the Golden State Warriors to a 116-94 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in game one of the NBA Western Conference finals.
Curry added seven assists and six rebounds as the Warriors led all the way over a Trail Blazers team coming off a game-seven victory over Denver in the second round on Sunday.
Klay Thompson added 26 points and provided an imposing defensive presence as the Warriors shrugged off the absence of injured superstar Kevin Durant.
Draymond Green added 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocked shots for the two-time defending NBA champions, who are playing in their fifth straight Western Conference final.
Curry said he just took advantage of what a free-flowing Warriors offense gave him.
It was a nice flow,” Curry said. “It just puts so much pressure on the defense.
“You can’t key it on one guy and even if you try to somebody else is going to be open.”
The Trail Blazers connected on only 36.1 percent of their shots from the field, making just seven of 28 three-point attempts as the Warriors drained 17 from beyond the arc.
Portland star Damian Lillard hit just four of 12 shots to score 19 points with six assists, four rebounds and seven turnovers.
CJ McCollum, who starred as Lillard struggled in game seven against the Nuggets, scored 17 points on seven-of-19 shooting.
“The schedule favored us,” acknowledged Golden State coach Steve Kerr, whose Warriors polished off the Houston Rockets on Friday.
“I thought we took advantage of the situation and got off to a good start.”
The Warriors pushed their lead to 10 in the second quarter before Portland put together a run that trimmed the deficit to 48-45.
Curry answered with a pair of late three-pointers — abetted by a Lillard turnover — to send the Warriors to the locker-room leading 54-45.
The Trail Blazers made another push in the third period, cutting a 17-point deficit to six.
Rodney Hood and Seth Curry both had three-pointers in the Blazers’ 11-4 scoring run to end the quarter, but those were the only points of the night for the younger Curry brother — a Portland reserve — as the game marked the first time siblings have met in an NBA conference final.
The Warriors reserves opened strong in the fourth quarter to rebuild the cushion in a stretch that Kerr called key.
“Great job by our bench,” Kerr said. “If we can buy some time for our starters to rest and even extend the lead, that’s a huge deal for us.”
Despite their shooting woes, the Trail Blazers managed to stay in touch much of the night thanks to making 27 of 31 free throws and out-rebounding the Warriors 47-42.
But their 21 turnovers led to 31 Warriors points — a gift no team can afford to give Golden State.
“You can’t allow that,” said Lillard, who admitted it was hard to come back from the emotional high of beating the Nuggets in Denver.
“I thought our minds were right. We came into the game ready,” he said. “But they’re a team that can go on runs, they make shots and the game can get away.”
In particular, Lillard said, the Blazers need to make things more difficult for Curry, who had open look after open look.
“That was poor execution defensively on our part,” Lillard said. “Having our bigs back that far, we’ve got to bring our guys up and run them off the line.”
The Warriors will try to double their advantage in the best-of-seven series when they host game two on Thursday. They are again expected to be without two-time NBA Finals MVP Durant, who has a right calf strain.
Stephen Curry powers Warriors over Blazers in NBA Western Conference finals opener
Stephen Curry powers Warriors over Blazers in NBA Western Conference finals opener
- Stephen Curry: I just took advantage of what a free-flowing Warriors offense gave me
- Two-time NBA Finals MVP Durant, who has a right calf strain, still out for game two
Century from Andries Gous powers Desert Vipers into ILT20 final
- His is first player from an associate nation to score a century in tournament history, and his 157-run partnership with Fakhar Zaman sets ILT20 opening-stand record
- Debutant Usman Tariq leads the charge with the ball, bagging three crucial wickets to help seal the victory
ABU DHABI: An unbeaten century from Andries Gous propelled Desert Vipers into the final of the International League T20 with a commanding 45-run victory over MI Emirates in Qualifier 1 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
His remarkable 120 not out spearheaded a clinical, all-round display as the Vipers secured a place in their third final in four seasons.
Gous and Fakhar Zaman, who hit a fluent 69 off 50 balls, laid the foundation for an imposing Vipers total as they stitched together a record-breaking 157-run partnership, the highest opening stand in the four-season history of the DP World ILT20.
Debutant Usman Tariq was then the star with the ball, claiming three wickets to derail the chase by MI Emirates.
Sent in to bat first, the Vipers got off to a measured start before accelerating the pace sharply. After a watchful opening, Gous let loose in the fifth over, smashing Romario Shepherd for two sixes and a four in a 20-run burst. He reached his half-century from just 29 balls, including three fours and three sixes, as the opening stand raced past 100 runs in only 65 deliveries.
Fakhar, who similarly began steadily, also shifted gears in the middle overs, reaching his 50 from 36 balls after targeting Kieron Pollard.
The opening pair were finding the boundary with ease and pushed their combined total beyond 150 before Fakhar was finally dismissed in the 16th over by Allah Ghazanfar. Sam Curran then joined Gous to provide a blistering finish.
Gous completed his century, the first of the season and the first by a player from an associate nation in the history of the ILT20, from 53 balls. Curran, meanwhile, smashed an unbeaten 38 off just 12 balls, including 20 runs in the final over, as the Vipers surged to a season-high 233 for the loss of a single wicket.
Gous finished the day with seven fours and nine sixes, and registered the highest individual score in the history of the tournament.
Chasing a daunting target, MI Emirates began brightly enough through Mohammed Waseem, who struck 41 off 32 balls, and Tom Banton. They ensured the powerplay was a positive spell, reaching 53 for one. Banton quickly took charge, hammering 18 runs off Curran in the ninth over on his way to a 21-ball half-century.
However, the momentum shifted decisively when Naseem Shah removed Waseem in the 11th over. Tariq then struck twice in two deliveries in the 12th, dismissing Banton for a valiant 63 off 27 balls, and Sanjay Krishnamurthi for a duck. The debutant added the wicket of Pollard soon after, finishing with three for 33 and swinging the contest firmly in the Vipers’ favor.
David Payne chipped in by removing Dan Mousley, and although Romario Shepherd contributed an unbeaten 39 late in the innings, including a costly 18th over off Curran, MI Emirates were restricted to 188 for seven, far short of what was required.
On Friday they will have a second chance to reach the final when they take on the winners of an eliminator, to be played on Thursday, between Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Dubai Capitals. The final will take place on Sunday.
Player of the match Gous said his performance was one he will not forget.
“It was a really special moment for me,” he said. “You don’t get many opportunities to score a hundred, so I truly cherished it.
“After the sixth over we knew handling the wind would be key, and Fakhar batted superbly, which made my job a lot easier.
“Post-powerplay, we were thinking in terms of 190 to 200 but then Sam played an unbelievable innings that pushed us all the way to 230.”
MI Emirates captain Pollard admitted the big target set by the Vipers proved decisive.
“Chasing 233 was always going to be a stiff challenge,” he said. “Losing by 45 runs is a big margin in T20 cricket but I felt we conceded about 10 to 15 runs too many on what was a very good pitch.
“One loss isn’t the end of the road; we still have another chance.”
