Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum made brilliant playoff debuts, and it still wasn't enough for Portland in Game 1 against Golden State.
The Trail Blazers know that if they are going to get past Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and the mighty Warriors, they're all going to have to do more.
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Portland's star backcourt combined for 75 points in a 121-109 loss Sunday, and the Blazers now are trying to find better ways to get others involved.
"I think to beat the Warriors, we're going to have to maybe make that extra pass more often and be able to depend on guys more often to allow them to have that type of success so we can actually beat them," Lillard said. "We have a huge game, and I think that gives us an opportunity to stay in the game. But to get over that hump and beat them, we've got to make those plays and give guys more opportunities so we can have them as well on the offensive end."
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.
LIVE GAME 2 UPDATES BETWEEN WARRIORS & BLAZERS:
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Trail Blazers at Warriors, Golden State leads 1-0. Game 2, 10:30 p.m., TNT.
NEED TO KNOW: So much gets made about "adjustments" between games of a playoff series. It's tough to see Portland changing much. By the NBA's count, the Blazers had 46 open shots in Game 1 and made only 19 of them. The Warriors were 20 for 33 on open shots. Translated: Portland got good looks, and had its chances. Why mess with that plan?
KEEP AN EYE ON: Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson shot a combined 15 for 35 (rather blah for them) for Golden State in Game 1. The Warriors scored 121 points, Kevin Durant sizzled and Draymond Green was fantastic, but look for the Splash Brothers to shoot better Wednesday. INJURY UPDATE: Portland's Jusuf Nurkic (right leg) says he will not play in Game 2. "I'm not 100 percent," Nurkic said. "I'm close, but I'm not going to play the second game" of the series.
PRESSURE IS ON: An argument could be made it's actually on Golden State. Yes, the Warriors took the best shot from Blazers guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum (a combined 75 points) in Game 1, and prevailed. But the game wasn't in hand until late, and Portland won't go away quietly now.