NBA Playoffs 2019: 3 Talking Points from Portland Trail Blazers vs Golden State Warriors, Game 2

The game 2 of the Western Conference finals between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors turned out to be a tantalizing affair. The Warriors emerged victorious in the end by a scoreline of 114-111.

The Blazers led for most of this match. Their guards were on fire in the first half and the Blazers also managed to do a great job on the defensive end. The Blazers led by as many as 15 points at half time.

But the Warriors fought back in the third quarter courtesy of great offence from Klay Thompson and Steph Curry and the game was tied at 89-89 going into the fourth quarter.

With Steph resting at the start of the fourth quarter, the Warriors lost their flow and they were down by 8 points with just 4 minutes remaining in the match. Steph Curry and Draymond Green combined to make some great plays down the stretch and the Warriors finally emerged out victorious when Iguodala stole the ball from Damian Lillard on the final play.

Let's have a look at the key talking points from this match:

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#3 Great start to the match from Portland Trail Blazers

Seth Curry had a great match on both ends

The Blazers looked far sharper in this match against the Warriors. Their starting backcourt was on fire in the first half and they had emerged out with a 15-point lead at half time.

The Blazers were also defending great and the Warriors offence looked stagnant for much of the first half. Seth Curry was great on both ends of the floor. He had the best net rating of +13 in 29 minutes of action and also had 4 steals to go along with his 16 points.

This was a welcome change from the first match for the Blazers. They had better tactics on the defence end and also executed on the offensive end.

#2 Disparity in the outside shooting in the two matches

Damian Lillard shot 5-12 from the 3PT line

The Portland Trail Blazers could not shoot properly in the first game of the series. That match turned into a blow out win for the Warriors. But the Blazers were totally spot on from outside in this match.

They were far better than the Warriors also in this match when it came to shooting. The Blazers shot 18-39 from the 3PT line while the Warriors shot only 9-29 from the 3PT line. It is very rare in today's NBA that a team having such advantage from the 3PT line ended up losing the contest.

Damian Lillard shot 5-12 from the 3PT line for his 23 points. CJ McCollum shot 3-7 from the 3PT line for his 22 points. Harkless also started the match nicely. He eventually provided good support with his 12 points.

The Blazers need to win game 3 at their home court to make this a series.

#1 Another amazing performance from Steph Curry

Steph dropped 37 points and rallied his team to victory

Steph Curry has revolutionized modern NBA like no other superstar. He is also the only unanimous MVP in NBA history. In the last few matches, he has been playing like his MVP years.

Steph Curry finished with 37 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 3PM in this match. He kept on making shots throughout the match. He has also made some great clutch plays down the stretch of this match which handed the victory to the Warriors.

Klay Thompson also continued his great scoring touch in the absence of Kevin Durant. He eventually finished with 24 points and shot 4-8 from the 3PT line. Green was engaged in pick and roll actions with Curry throughout the fourth quarter and he displayed great decision making and playmaking skills to set up teammates for easy buckets.

The Warriors are relying on their old classic line up in the absence of Kevin Durant and they are looking mightily impressive.