NBA PLAYOFFS, WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS, GAME 2
Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors
Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, Calif.
Time: Thursday, 6 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN
Radio: Rip City Radio 620 AM
Odds: Warriors favored by 7.5, over/under set at 218.5
By the numbers
McCollum vs. the Warriors: CJ McCollum has not performed well against the Warriors this season, and Game 1 continued that trend. In four regular-season games against Golden State, McCollum averaged 18.0 points and shot 36.6% from the field and 30% from the 3-point line. In Game 1, McCollum had 17 points and shot 7 of 19 from the field (36.8%) and 1 for 5 from distance (20%). Before this season, McCollum had played well against the Warriors. In the three seasons prior to this one, McCollum averaged 22.5 points against the Warriors and shot well, making 46.2% of his field goals and 44.6% of his 3-pointers.
Lillard's slump: Through the first six games of the 2019 playoffs, Damian Lillard was nearly unstoppable, averaging 34.0 points per game, while shooting 47.8% from the field and 45.5% from the 3-point line. But since Game 2 of the second-round series against the Nuggets, Lillard has been in a major shooting slump. In the past seven games, he's averaged 22.3 points and is shooting 37.5% from the field and 28.8% on 3-point attempts. Lillard wasn't good against the Warriors in Game 1, missing eight of 12 shots and finishing with 19 points and seven turnovers. But he has performed well against the Warriors this season and during his career.
- Career vs. Warriors: 27.0 points, 43.8% FG, 42.2% 3P
- 2018-19 vs. Warriors: 28.3 points, 47.6% FG, 50.0% 3P
More length on Curry: In Game 1, Lillard was the primary defender against Stephen Curry. It didn't go well, with Curry hitting nine 3-pointers and scoring 36 points. But the Blazers may be able to slow Curry by assigning a taller defender to be his primary defender. In 43 possessions in Game 1 when Curry's primary defender was a player 6-foot-4 or smaller, he hit 8 of 12 shots, including 7 of 8 3-pointers, and scored 26 points, and the Warriors scored 58 points in those 43 possessions, for a 134.8 offensive rating. But in the 28 possessions in Game 1 when Curry's primary defender was a player 6-foot-5 or taller, he hit only 4 of 11 shots, missed 5 of his 7 3-point attempts, and scored 10 points. In those 28 possessions, the Warriors scored 26 points, for a 92.9 offensive rating.
3-on-3 Blazers podcast
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Injury report
Warriors: OUT: Kevin Durant (right calf strain), DeMarcus Cousins (left quadriceps tear). PROBABLE: Kevon Looney (left knee soreness)
Blazers: OUT: Jusuf Nurkic (left leg)
Live updates
Series at a glance
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers
Warriors lead best-of-7 series, 1-0; all times PDT, x-if necessary
Game 1 (at GS): Warriors 116, Trail Blazers 94
Game 2 (at GS): Thursday, 6 p.m., ESPN
Game 3 (at POR): Saturday, 6 p.m., ESPN
Game 4 (at POR): Monday, May 20, 6 p.m., ESPN
x-Game 5 (at GS): Wednesday, 6 p.m., ESPN
x-Game 6 (at POR): Friday, May 24, 6 p.m., ESPN
x-Game 7 (at GS): Sunday, May 26, 6 p.m., ESPN
Live stream options
Stream on WatchESPN (requires subscription to TV provider); NBA playoff games can be streamed live with a subscription to the following services: Hulu + Live TV (does not include NBA TV), Playstation Vue (not all plans include NBA TV), DirecTV Now (not all plans include NBA TV), Sling TV (NBA TV is available as an add-on), fuboTV (does not include ESPN), and YouTube TV. The NBA won't be airing any playoff games live on NBA League Pass because all the games will air on national television, but subscribers will have access to the games in the NBA League Pass archive three hours after the games end (subscription required; local games and nationally televised games are blacked out).
Jared Cowley writes about the Trail Blazers and other topics for KGW.com. He's also the co-host of the 3-on-3 Blazers podcast (listen here). You can reach him on Twitter @jaredcowley.