Curry pumukol ng 36 pts sa panalo ng Warriors

OAKLAND, Calif. — Alam ni Stephen Curry kung paano dominahin ang laro sa pamamagitan ng kanyang shooting touch.

Nagsalpak si Curry ng siyam na three-point shots at tumapos na may 36 points para akayin ang Golden State Warriors sa 116-94 pagpapatumba sa Portland Trail Blazers sa Game One ng kanilang Western Conference championship series.

“Practice shots,” sabi ni Blazers star Damian Lillard sa mga wide-open chances ni Curry.

Ipinakitang muli ng Warriors na kaya nilang manalo nang wala si leading scorer Kevin Durant (strained right calf).

“I know what I’m capable of on the floor. The situation calls for me to be a little bit more aggressive and hopefully that’ll continue,” wika ni Curry, may 37.1% shooting sa 3-point area sa postseason. “Obviously it’s nice to see the ball go in. I didn’t shoot the ball well for 4 1/2 games the last series and got off to a good start tonight. I want to maintain that. Every game is different, you’ve got to re-establish yourself. That’s my perspective no matter how I play.”

Nagsalpak si Curry ng magandang 12-for-23 field­goal sho­oting para sa kanyang ikaapat na 30-point performance sa postseason.

Sinapawan ng two-time NBA MVP sina Lillard at CJ McCollum na naglista ng pinagsamang 11-for-31 shooting sa panig ng Portland.

“It’s good to see Steph have a game like that at a time that obviously we need him most,” wika ni forward Draymond Green, kumolekta ng 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks at 2 steals pa­ra sa Golden State.

Nag-ambag si ‘Splash Brother’ Klay Thompson ng 26 points, kasama ang one-handed slam sa dulo ng fourth quarter.

Tumapos si McCollum na may 17 points kasama ang 1-of-6 clip sa 3-point line para sa Blazers.

Sa kabuuan ay nagtala ang Portland ng masamang 7-for-28 shooting sa long range.

nakatakda ang Game Two sa Huwebes at inaa­sahang muling hindi maglalaro ang two-time reig­ning NBA Finals MVP na si Durant.

“I think we played a terrible game and we still had a chance going into the fourth quarter,” wika ni McCollum. “So we need to tighten some things up and look forward to the game on Thursday.”

May 3 points naman ang nakababatang kapatid ni Curry na si Seth para sa Blazers.

“We’ve got to play better, particularly at the offensive end, but we’ve got to be better at both ends,” ani Portland coach Terry Stotts.