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PORTLAND – Long after the Trail Blazers had left their court, many of Golden State’s players celebrated on the floor at the Moda Center to the delight of a rather large contingent of yellow-clad fans who chanted ”War-ri-ors! War-ri-ors!”
The first-round sweep was sweet, even in Portland’s house.
Stephen Curry scored 37 points and Golden State beat the Blazers, 128-103, on Monday night to advance to the conference semifinals. The Warriors will face the winner of the series between the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers, which is tied at 2.
Golden State was energized despite playing for the second straight game without coach Steve Kerr, who has been experiencing a flare-up of symptoms stemming from back surgery a couple of years ago. Assistant Mike Brown has served as head coach in Kerr’s absence.
But the Warriors saw the return of forward Kevin Durant, who hadn’t played since Game 1 because of a strained left calf. He started and the Warriors built a 72-48 lead by the end of the opening half.
The Warriors showed no signs of slowing in the third. Curry’s 3-pointer pushed Golden State’s lead to 91-58.
”We knew if we threw the first punch, we knew that it would overwhelm them a bit, especially being up 3-0,” Durant said.
”We’re very confident about who we are and how were going to be successful,” Curry said. (AP)
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