NBA Playoffs: JaVale McGee, Warriors Rout Blazers 110-81 Without Kevin Durant To Take 2-0 Series Lead

Golden State was missing Kevin Durant due to injury on Wednesday night, but it made do without him and JaVale McGee scored 15 points in just 13 minutes to lift the Warriors to a 110-81 home rout of the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2.

NBA Playofs Round 1: Warriors Rout Blazers In Game 2 For 2-0 Lead

The Warriors now lead the Western Conference first-round series 2-0. Durant sat out with a strained left calf he injured in Game 1 on Sunday, while his teammates Shaun Livingston and Matt Barnes also did not play due to sprained right index finger, and a sprained right ankle and foot, respectively.

McGee made all seven of his field-goal attempts and added many of his signature alley-oop dunks.

”That’s my whole thing, I just try to be efficient out there,” the backup big man said.

Stephen Curry had an off night shooting, going 6 for 18 for 19 points in addition to six points and six rebounds in 31 minutes of play.

“You’ve got to be aggressive,” Curry said. “Obviously you’re missing 25 points, 26 points [out of] the lineup. So the shot is available you kind of do it a different way. But tonight we didn’t really get it going much or consistently throughout the game. We had some dry spots, but we won the game with our defense tonight.”

Klay Thompson was 6 of 17 with 16 points and Draymond Green contributed 12 rebounds, ten assists, six points for a spectacular game. Green also recorded three blocks to add to the five he had on Sunday.

The Warriors were also strong on defense, holding the Blazers to just 12 points in the third for Portland’s lowest scoring in any period this season. This also tied for the least in a quarter by a Golden State playoff opponent in the shot clock era.

”Our offense got scattered, we were rushing everything. We were just not poised offensively and that put our defense in a bad position,” coach Steve Kerr said. ”I thought in the third quarter we settled our offense down which helped our defense.”

The Blazers’ two big men, CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard, struggled on Wednesday. McCollum, who had 41 points in Sunday’s playoff opener, scored 11 points on 4-for-17 shooting on Tuesday. Lillard was 5 for 17 and managed just 12 points.

”Coming in the first two games we just wanted to take one,” Lillard said. ”We didn’t do that.”

Coach Terry Stotts urged Portland to be more balanced in order to have a chance at defeating the top-seeded Warriors, who finished with the NBA’s best record (67-15) for the third consecutive year.

Maurice Harkless scored all 15 of his points in the first half, and the Blazers allowed seven straight points to open the third quarter. Portland again missed center Jusuf Nurkic. The 7-foot, 22-year-old Bosnian, acquired this offseason in a trade with the Denver Nuggets, is still suffering from a non-displaced fracture in his right leg that sidelined him for the last seven regular-season games.

Zaza Pachulia added 10 points for Golden State on 5-of-8 shooting, Ian Clark added 13 points, and Andre Iguodala finished with 10 rebounds, six assists and six points.

Game 3 of this series is set for Saturday in Portland.

In the other two Game 2 playoff matchups on Wednesday, the Washington Wizards beat the Atlanta Hawks 109-101 to take a 2-0 series lead, while the Houston Rockets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to also lead their series 2-0.

OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 19: JaVale McGee #1 high-fives Andre Iguodala #9 of the Golden State Warriors during their game against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on April 19, 2017 in Oakland, California.

Article by Pablo Mena