Game one notes: Warriors fill up the stat sheet in dominant WCF win

Last night, the Warriors won game one of the Western Conference Semifinals, 116-94, over the Trail Blazers.

Without Kevin Durant, the Warriors extended their postseason winning streak against Portland to seven games, stretching back to game four of the 2016 WCS when Stephen Curry scored 17 in OT to virtually put the series away.

They were led by Curry and Thompson, who outscored the Portland backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum 62-36 and committed only three turnovers to the Blazers backcourt’s 10.

Here are some notes from the dominant Golden State victory. 

Curry continues postseaon dominance against Lillard and the Blazers

Not coincidentally, that seven-game winning streak began when Curry returned from his MCL injury in 2016. In those seven games, Curry has averaged 32 points and seven assists on 48% shooting, outscoring Damian Lillard in all but one game (2017 game one, when he scored 29 and Lillard had 34). 

Also in those seven games, the Warriors have averaged 122, never scoring less than 110 and shot 52.2%, winning by 13.6 per game. Last night was the third time he has scored 35 against Portland in the playoffs tied for the most against any team with Cleveland (22 games) and San Antonio (10 games). 

Curry, Thompson make more history 

Game one was a record-breaking night for the Splash Brothers in several respects.

First, it was Curry’s 10th career postseason game with 35 points, five rebounds and five assists (three in 2015, three in 2016, two in 2017 and two this postseason). Of the 388 35-5-5 playoff games in NBA history, he is only the ninth player all-time with 10 such games, joining LeBron James (43 games), Michael Jordan (34), Jerry West (20), Kobe Bryant (16), Kevin Durant (14), Larry Bird (13), James Harden (12) and Russell Westbrook (12). Of those players, Curry’s record in those games (10-0) is the best, with Bird (12-1) and West (17-3) close behind. 

It was also his fourth career playoff game with eight threes, joining Ray Allen as the most all-time (Thompson is second with three, including a postseason-record 11).

Lastly, according to Justin Kubatko, the Chief Data Officer for Stat Muse and the creator of Basketball Reference, Curry and Thompson both scored 25 points in a playoff for the 14th time, the most ever by a backcourt duo. 

Do-everything Draymond fills up the stat sheet yet again

With his 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists last night, Draymond Green made history himself last night, becoming the fourth player all-time to post five straight postseasons with 100-plus rebounds and 100-plus assists, joining Magic Johnson (1982-88), Larry Bird (84-88) and Michael Jordan (89-93), according to Kubatko.

Over that time (since 2015), Green has averaged 9.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists, leading the Warriors in both categories.

Bench mob is consistent yet again

The much-maligned bench unit, called the worst of the Steve-Kerr era as recently as before game six, had yet another great game, adding 36 points, 19 rebounds and 4-5 three-point shooting. Six different players gave at least 11 minutes, led by Kevon Looney with 24. 

Even with Rodney Hood’s 17 points, the Portland bench scored 28 points and shot 7-28 from the field, 3-15 from three. The main disappointment was Seth Curry, who shot 1-7 from the field and 1-4 from three, scoring only three points. 

He could potentially be a difference-maker if he can get hot, like he was in the regular season matchups, averaging 11 in the two wins and 2.5 in the two losses.