NBA playoffs on May 18: Draymond Green brings third win to GSW

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The Golden State Warriors claimed victory in their first game at the Moda Center by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 110-99 on Saturday, leading 3-0 in the series and are one win from the 2019 NBA Finals.

Stephen Curry again shot down the court's highest 36 points, but Golden State's real hero in Game 3 was Draymond Green who had a triple-double of 20 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists and directed the team's grand counter-strike in the third quarter.

Trail Blazers gain initiative in first half

Meyers Leonard #11 of the Portland Trail Blazers dunks in the game they lose against the Golden State Warriors 110-99 at the Moda Center, May 18, 2019. /VCG Photo

Portland's head coach Terry Stotts deserved credit for changing the game. He replaced Enes Kanter with Meyers Leonard in the startling-lineup and kept a "twin-tower" unit – two centers – for multiple possessions. Leonard met the coach's expectation by dropping 13 points and burying two three-pointers in the first half.

Rip City's role players also took the opponent by surprise. Unlike their Warriors counterparts, Maurice Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu were not playmakers but that does not mean they could not do simple work well, like competing for offensive rebounds and penetrating. Playing at the home court, the Trail Blazers kept launching attacks against the Warriors' basket to earn as many as 13 free throws in the first quarter.

The first half was almost perfect for Portland: all of their 10 players in rotation scored; the team led 23-12 in bench unit points. The only flaw was that Damian Lillard only got two points in the second quarter but committed four turnovers, which became the hidden danger for the team in the second half.

Draymond Green takes momentum for Warriors in second half

Draymond Green #23 of the Warriors drives fast break in the game against the Trail Blazers, May 18, 2019. /VCG Photo

For reasons that no one knew, Golden State's head coach Steve Kerr put Damian Jones, who had missed over half of the regular season, in the starting unit. It turned out to be a bad move as Jones soon was called three fouls in three minutes in the first quarter, giving Portland their bonus time way too early.

Kerr's second mistake was that he let Klay Thompson carry four bench players on the court for too long in Q2, and that's when the Trail Blazers gained momentum and achieved their biggest lead of 18 points in the game.

Stephen Curry #30 of the Warriors shoots a three-pointer in the game against the Trail Blazers, May 18, 2019. /VCG Photo

Fortunately, Golden State had Green, who not only scored the team's highest 15 points in the first half, but also led the team to launch terrific counter attacks in the second half via fast break. Green had better energy than anybody else on the court and he used that energy in switch defense, help defense, double teaming, and most importantly, driving transitional offense.

In six minutes and 14 seconds in Q3, the Warriors launched a 18-3 run to gain their first lead in the game and Green contributed four points and four assists to that momentum. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers fell into struggle in offense to get only 33 points in the second half. After another 16-5 run the last quarter led by Stephen Curry's consecutive three-pointers, home fans at the Moda Center had to watch their team lose Game 3.

What did Trail Blazers do wrong?

Rodney Hood (R) of the Trail Blazers handles the ball in the game against the Warriors, May 18, 2019. /VCG Photo

Portland's loss in the second half came from several factors.

First, the team's role players ceased to be determined with their game. Since Golden State continued their defensive tactics of sealing Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, there were enough opportunities left for others of Portland to take. However, when the role players began to hesitate, not only did Golden State's defense catch up, Portland's players would lose their dribbling and shooting rhythm. With missed shots or committed turnovers, it became the perfect chance for the opponent's fast break, via which Golden State scored 21 points.

Second, though Leonard and Zac Collins got 31 and 20 minutes on the court, their height advantage did not help them in rebounding or rim protecting. The Warriors led in total rebounds (49-41), trailed only by one point in second-chance points (13-12) and claimed more points in the paint (46-30) than the Trail Blazers.

Damian Lillard #0 of the Trail Blazers shoots in the game against the Warriors, May 18, 2019. /VCG Photo

Third, Damian Lillard under-performed in the game. Having only 19 points, six rebounds, six assists and five turnovers was definitely not the best Lillard could do. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Lillard suffered separated ribs in Game 2 and played Game 3 with the injury. When the team's best player could not change the opponent's defense with his performance, Portland stood no chance against Golden State.