JaVale McGee is perfect from the field as Warriors go up 2-0

WASHINGTON, USA – The Golden State Warriors clamped down on defense as they cruised to a 110-81 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, taking a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Playing without injured star Kevin Durant, Golden State held Portland to just 12 points in the third quarter Wednesday, April 19 (Thursday Manila time) to post their 11th straight home win over the Trail Blazers in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference semi-final series.

Durant missed the game with a calf strain.

“You got to be aggressive. Tonight we didn’t really get it going and we had some dry spots but we won the game with our defense,” said Warriors star Stephen Curry. “We asserted ourselves in first quarter that set the tone for the game.”

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Curry had 19 points and Klay Thompson added 16 as the Warriors won easily despite scoring 11 fewer points than in their 121-109 win in the opening game of the series.

JaVale McGee said they miss not having Durant in the lineup but they also know how to adjust when he is not there.

“We have confidence. We have had to play without KD for a lot of games earlier so we are used to it. But we need KD. We need his scoring,” said McGee, who came off the bench to score 15 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field. McGee also registered 4 blocks, 5 rebounds and a steal in the 13 minutes he was on the court.

The teams will travel to Portland for the next two meetings in the best-of-7 series, with the Warriors taking their lead into Game 3 on Saturday. – Rappler.com