Warriors put out Blazers
Washington, April 20: The Golden State Warriors clamped down on defence 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 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.
Steph Curry had 19 points and Klay Thompson added 16 as the Warriors won easily despite scoring 11 fewer points than in their 121109 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.
Rockets fire on all cylinders
Elsewhere, Eric Gordon and Lou Williams caught fire in the fourth quarter as the Houston Rockets rallied for a 115-111 playoff win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, who lost despite another historic 50-point night by Russell Westbrook.
The Rockets erased a 15point deficit to take a 2-0 lead after game two of their Western Conference series.
Westbrook delivered a triple-double of 51 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds but couldn’t get the ball to drop when it counted. He shot a dismal four of 18 in the fourth quarter.
His scoring total was the highest for a postseason triple-double in NBA history.
Despite the historic night, Westbrook failed to find his teammates with passes as he appeared to run out of steam in the final quarter.
He missed 14 shots in the fourth, the most misses in any quarter in the last 20 NBA playoffs.
James Harden finished with 35 points and eight assists and was a perfect 18 for 18 from the freethrow line.
Wizards show magic
In Washington, Bradley Beal scored 16 of his 31 points in the final quarter as the Washington Wizards seized a 2-0 lead in their first-round series with a 109-101 win.
John Wall delivered a team-high 32 points as he and Beal tallied 20 of the Wizards’ final 21 points in a penalty-filled contest.
Game three is in Atlanta on Saturday as the Wizards have won five in a row over the Hawks.
Paul Millsap had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks. Dennis Schroder scored 23 points and Tim Hardaway had 19. Atlanta committed 18 turnovers.
Washington’s Marcin Gortat easily controlled the head-to-head matchup as Dwight Howard’s struggles in the playoffs continued. Hawks center Howard had just six points and seven rebounds.