(USA TODAY Sports)`

The Golden State Warriors dominated at home against a fatigued Portland Trail Blazers squad. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum try to bounce back Thursday night. Here’s a sports betting preview of Game 1 and a preview of Game 2.

The Golden State Warriors made it look easy Tuesday as they beat Portland 116-94 to take an early 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.

Steph Curry led all scorers with 36 points, but it was a total team effort on the defensive end.  The Warriors scored 31 points off of Trail Blazers’ turnovers, seven of which came from Damian Lillard.

Portland’s play was sloppy defensively and offensively. Could fatigue from their seven game series against the Denver Nuggets have finally caught up to the Trail Blazers?


Oddsmakers at BetStars make the Warriors 7.5-point favorites (Over/Under 218) Thursday night.

Stat of the Day

CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard combined for 36 points, the same number Curry scored on his own. It was Currys’ 27th career game with at least nine 3-pointers.

Prop Shop (Monkey Knife Fight)

Steph Curry couldn’t miss in Game 1 but Portland made it easy on the former MVP. They failed to trap Curry, the strategy the Houston Rockets used to slow down the prolific shooter in the conference semifinals. Portland’s head coach was criticized for his defensive game plan following the game, and Enes Kanter implied that they would approach Curry differently in game 2.

I expect the Trail Blazers to almost overcompensate on Kanter’s promise. They will force the ball out of Curry’s hands and be willing to lose to anyone other than No. 30. For that reason, I’ll be picking Damian Lillard +6.5 points.

While Curry is getting trapped, he’ll be dishing it to Thompson for threes. Take Thompson -.5 three-pointers made Over McCollum and add Andrew Iguodala +3.5 assists Over Draymond Green for the game.

Additionally, I love Steph Curry Over 5.5 assists at PointsBet.

Breakfast Lean: Lillard +6.5 Points; Thompson -.5 Three-Pointers Made; Iguodala +3.5 Assists (Rapid Fire 2/3 1.98x payout at Monkey Knife Fight)

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The Breakfast Pick

Portland’s backcourt was simply too cold for us to hit the Over in Game 1. The Warriors easily covered the spread but the Unders hit by an 11 point margin.

Once again, the Warriors covered the first quarter spread. I was hesitant to continue to back Golden State first quarter without Durant, but they’ve covered both first quarters since Durant went down. Until proven otherwise, I’m going to hop back on this train. It’s been profitable throughout the playoffs and it’s my favorite side tonight other than Over on Curry’s assists prop. Breakfast Pick: Golden State Warriors 1Q -2.5 (FanDuel Sportsbook)

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