Rampaging Warriors
Golden State come out swinging to complete sweep against Portland
LOS ANGELES: The Golden State Warriors swept into the second round of the NBA playoffs with a crushing 128-103 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Stephen Curry scored 37 points with eight assists and seven rebounds as the Warriors completed a four-game sweep of the best-ofseven Western Conference firstround series against the Blazers.
Curry sat out the entire fourth quarter of a game the Warriors dominated from opening tip.
Their 45 first-quarter points matched an NBA playoff record for points in an opening quarter, and they were up by 24 at half-time.
“We came out on a mission,” Curry said.
“It was a great way to put our foot on the gas pedal and get a win.”
Draymond Green added 21 points for the Warriors. Kevin Durant, who missed the last two games with a left calf injury, scored 10 points in just 20 minutes on the floor.
Six Warriors players scored in double figures as Golden state connected on 53.5% of their shots from the field, including 17 of 29 from three-point range.
Damian Lillard scored 34 points and Al-Farouq Aminu chipped in 25 for Portland but the Trail Blazers never really threatened.
The Warriors now await either the Los Angeles Clippers or Utah Jazz, whose are tied at two games apiece.
In Eastern Conference action, the Raptors forged a 3-2 series lead with a 118-93 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Toronto.
Norman Powell, making his second start of the series, produced 25 points to help the Raptors move within one win of reaching the second round, with game six in Milwaukee on Thursday.
Kyle Lowry added 16 points and 10 assists for the Raptors while Serge Ibaka contributed 19 points, DeMar DeRozan had 18, DeMarre Carroll added 12 and Cory Joseph scored 10 off the bench.
The winners of the series will face reigning NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers, who swept the Indiana Pacers in four games.
The Cavs beat the Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals last season.
The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Washington Wizards 111-101 to knot their Eastern Conference series at two games each. — AFP