Stephen Curry, Warriors Storm Back to Win Game 2 over Damian Lillard, Blazers

Paul KasabianSenior ContributorMay 17, 2019

Noah Graham/Getty Images

Stephen Curry posted 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the No. 1 seed Golden State Warriors beat the No. 3 Portland Trail Blazers 114-111 in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday at Oracle Arena.

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Klay Thompson added 24 points, and Draymond Green contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks for the Warriors, who were without Kevin Durant (right calf strain).

The Blazers led 65-50 at the half and 108-100 with 4:28 remaining, but the Warriors ended Game 2 on a 14-3 run.

Kevon Looney gave the Warriors the lead for good at 112-111 when he threw down an alley-oop pass from Green with 52.9 seconds left.

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Stars Invest in Plant-Based Food as Vegetarianism Sweeps NBA
The NBA Got Some Wild Techs This Season
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Westbrook Makes History While Honoring Nipsey Hussle
Devin Booker Makes History with Scoring Tear
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Bosh Is Getting His Jersey Raised to the Rafters in Miami
Steph Returns to Houston for 1st Time Since His Moon Landing Troll
Lou Williams Is Coming for a Repeat of Sixth Man of the Year
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LeBron Keeps Shredding NBA Record Books
Young's Hot Streak Is Heating Up the ROY Race with Luka
LeBron and 2 Chainz Form a Superteam to Release a New Album
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Eight Years Ago, the Nuggets Traded Melo to the Knicks
Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans
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After Blazers guard CJ McCollum missed a jumper, Green responded with a layup off a Curry dish.

Portland had one last chance to tie the game, but Andre Iguodala blocked Damian Lillard's game-tying three-point attempt.

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Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans
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Lillard scored 23 points for the visiting Blazers, who trail the Warriors 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. McCollum added 22, and Seth Curry had 16 points and four steals off the bench.

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Bosh Is Getting His Jersey Raised to the Rafters in Miami
Steph Returns to Houston for 1st Time Since His Moon Landing Troll
Lou Williams Is Coming for a Repeat of Sixth Man of the Year
Pat Beverley Has the Clippers Stealing the LA Shine
LeBron Keeps Shredding NBA Record Books
Young's Hot Streak Is Heating Up the ROY Race with Luka
LeBron and 2 Chainz Form a Superteam to Release a New Album
Wade's #OneLastDance Dominated February
Warriors Fans Go Wild After Unforgettable Moments with Steph
Eight Years Ago, the Nuggets Traded Melo to the Knicks
Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans
ASG Will Be Competitive Again If the NBA Raises the Stakes

The Blazers Blew Their 1 Shot to Steal Series

The Blazers played fantastic basketball for 32 of 48 minutes.

They hung with the Warriors in the first quarter, outscored the Dubs by 13 in the second and used a 16-8 run to take a late eight-point lead in the fourth.

Lillard was a fantastic distributor as evidenced by his game-high assist total, McCollum scored 16 first-half points, Seth Curry notched a game-high plus-13 and Rodney Hood contributed off the bench once again with 12 points. The team made 18 of 39 three-pointers and was 17-of-33 at one point.

Unfortunately, the Blazers' excellent evening was all for naught as the Warriors outscored them 53-27 over the entire third quarter and the four-minute closing stretch.

NBA @NBA
14-3 run to close the game helps give the @warriors a 2-0 series lead over Portland in the Western Conference Finals! Game 3: Saturday (5/18), 9pm/et, ESPN #StrengthInNumbers #NBAPlayoffs https://t.co/AQssuAV1g8

Even Golden State head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged his team stole this one:

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater
Steve Kerr: “We stole that game. They outplayed us.”

Overall, Portland was at its best for two-thirds of the game, and the Warriors played their A-game for half that time. It didn't matter, and that could haunt the Blazers, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com noted:

Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
The Blazers are going to have nightmares about the end of this game all summer if they can't find a way to crawl out of this 0-2 hole. They had it -- and they lost it.

Golden State's advantage down low played a big part. The Blazers opted to go with a smaller, more mobile lineup after the Warriors shot 51.5 percent from the field in Game 1 against a defense that parked its bigger defenders down low.

The Game 2 strategy worked for the most part, as the Warriors made just nine of 29 three-pointers and struggled offensively for large stretches.

However, the Blazers faced a double-edge sword by giving up their advantage on the boards and in the key: The Warriors outscored Portland 54-32 in points in the paint and outrebounded the visitors 50-37. Golden State dominated down the stretch because Portland had no answer down low. The Warriors' last seven field goals were layups or dunks, in fact.

And therein lies Portland's problem: Its defense (or frankly any defense) will encounter trouble against the Warriors offense even when it's scuffling through a mediocre evening like it did in Game 2.

Guard the paint, and die by the three. Trap and try to take away the three, and die by layups and dunks. No one wins except for Golden State.

Granted, Lillard and McCollum were a bit off on Thursday, shooting just 38.5 percent combined. Chances are those numbers will improve going forward.

But the Warriors survived an off-shooting night from Klay Thompson, who hit just eight of 22 field goals. And players not named Curry or Thompson made just one of seven three-pointers.

Portland could certainly win at home, but it's hard seeing how the team can play much better than it did on Thursday. That's especially the case against a Warriors team that has won three of four NBA Finals and has a wealth of postseason experience.

Lastly, Golden State has been down this game-script road before. As Zach Lowe of ESPN tweeted, the Warriors have a habit of lulling their opponent into a false sense of security before exploding in the second half:

Zach Lowe @ZachLowe_NBA
I feel like I've seen that game like 75 times over the last whatever years.

Zach Lowe @ZachLowe_NBA
It was indeed -- one of like 4-5 insane Draymond defensive sequences in last 5 minutes. Warriors fall behind, 3rd Q explosion, Steph and Klay fun times, Andre and Draymond genius defense, Warriors win, opponent demoralized, rinse, repeat. They do it in style, though. https://t.co/CxA6fB45q1

That may well set the tone for the rest of the series: Ultimately, an amazing effort by a tough-as-nails Portland team still ended in a loss, and now the Blazers face a significant uphill climb.

What's Next?

Portland will host Golden State for Game 3 on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.