Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers Game 3 Pick

The Portland Trail Blazers trail the Golden State Warriors 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals. The Trail Blazers will be able to play in front of their home crowd on Saturday, but will that be enough to steal a game from this Warriors team? The Warriors come into game 3 as underdogs, at +3.

Warriors Control Series

Golden State managed to win both games at home in the series, with its most recent coming in a 114-111 victory in Game 2 on Thursday. The Warriors trailed 65-50 heading into the half but had another huge third quarter to come back and win the game. Portland was outscored 39-24 in the third, which had the game tied heading into the fourth quarter. The Warriors outscored the Trail Blazers 25-22 in the final quarter, and Andre Iguodala’s game-sealing steal on Damian Lillard clinched the game for Golden State.

The “Splash Brothers” were at it again, as Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 37 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds. Klay Thompson was right behind him in scoring with 24 points, as the dynamic duo shot a perfect 15-15 from the free throw line. Curry attempted 14 shots from beyond the arc sinking four, while Klay shot 4-for-8 from deep. Curry and Thompson have done a tremendous job filling in while Kevin Durant continues to recover from his calf injury. At this point, Golden State is making this look entirely too easy.

Portland Playing Hard

Portland played the Warriors close in Game 2 but fell apart in the third quarter. Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 23 points, and C.J. McCollum finished with 22 points. Those are good games on most nights, but they don’t look as good when you compare them to the numbers of Curry and Thompson. Seth Curry poured in 16 points off the bench in this series matchup against his brother.

There aren’t that many point guards that are going to lock down (Steph) Curry on defense. Lillard has had a tough time in the first two games of the series but needs to figure something out if they want to win. If you slow down Curry, then you have a chance against the Warriors.

That formula only works while Durant remains sidelined. Durant has already been ruled out for Game 3, but the Warriors continue to win without him. Golden State coach Steve Kerr deserves a lot of credit. People might say that he should be having this kind of success with such a star-loaded roster, but at the same time, it’s not easy to do what he has done.

Being able to keep all the stars on this team involved and happy has been huge. It’s tough with some player’s egos, but it just seems to work in Golden State. The picks and screens that they run to get Curry and Thompson open is lethal. The passing is crisp and precise, and it’s honestly must-watch television at this point.