By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Despite playing without Kevin Durant and falling into a 17-point hole, the Golden State Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 114-111, on Thursday. The win at the Oracle Arena built a 2-0 advantage in the Western Conference Final best-of-seven series.
Stephen Curry finished with 37 points, eight boards and eight helpers. Klay Thompson added 24 points. Both sank four triples in Game 2. Swede Jonas Jerebko didn’t score in 15 minutes, but tallied seven rebounds, a pair of dimes and one rejection.
The visitors didn’t hold on to their 17-point lead they notched at about halftime, both during the second quarter and the third. Enes Kanter posted four points, five rebounds and one block in 19 minutes filling in once again for injured Jusuf Nurkic.
Damian Lillard scored a team-high 23 points, dished ten assists as well, but was denied by Andre Iguodala in the Blazers’ final attempt of the contest. CJ McCollum followed with 22 points, but previously missed a jumper with 32 seconds to go.
Game 3 will be played on Saturday evening at Portland. After being re-examined, Durant is now expected to miss the rest of the series due to his strained right calf. DeMarcus Cousins will remain out for at least one more week due to his strained left quadriceps muscle.