Warriors vs. Trail Blazers Game 3 Prediction: Betting Odds, Line & Pick

Getty Seth Curry wears the No. 31 since the Blazers retired No. 30.

The Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers clash in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday night.

Saturday, May 18 at 9:00 PM ET

Moda Center

Coverage: ESPN

*All odds and betting info courtesy of OddsShark and originally posted by Bookmaker

  • Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers (-2.5 at -105)
  • Over/Under: 221.5 at -110

Warriors Steal Game 2

The Warriors used a 14-3 run to close the game and beat the Trail Blazers 114-111 while taking a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. It was a back-and-forth game and only Seth Curry (+13) and Stephen Curry (+10) posted plus/minus (+/-) ratings of +10 or better. They combined for 53 points, the second-most ever by brothers in the NBA playoffs.

Klay Thompson had 24 points on just 8-for-22 from the field but he was 4-for-8 from beyond the arc and Draymond Green added 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks.

Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 23 points and 10 assists, CJ McCollum had 22 points and five assists and Seth Curry added 16 points and four steals off the bench on 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.

The Trail Blazers are the second team in playoff history to make 18+ 3-pointers and lose. The only other team to do so was the Warriors in Game 4 of the 2015 Western Conference Finals at Houston (made 20).

Sports analytics and strategy site Positive Residual explained that Stephen Curry scored 37 points on 37 percent usage and 26 true shot attempts. Curry was only 4-for-14 from 3-point range, he converted 3-for-4 at the rim and 11-for-11 at the free-throw line and his eight assists facilitated another 18 points. The star point guard committed six turnovers (four live-ball) but he had eight rebounds.

Curry is the first player with over 35 points, five rebounds and five assists in each of the first two games of a Conference/Division Finals since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did so as a rookie in the 1970 Eastern Division Finals against the Knicks.

Lillard (6-for-16) and CJ McCollum (9-for-23) both shot under 40 percent for the second consecutive game. Overall they combined to make just 15 of their 39 shot attempts (38.4 percent). The fact that it took McCollum 23 shots to score 22 points is concerning. The Trail Blazers should have won this game and they need Lillard and McCollum to be at their best or this will be a short series.


Warriors vs. Trail Blazers Trends and Prediction

The Golden State Warriors are:

  • 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against Northwest Division opponents
  • 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games following an ATS loss
  • 11-5 ATS in their last 16 Western Conference Finals games

The Portland Trail Blazers are:

  • 2-5 ATS in their last seven games after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game
  • 1-4 ATS in their last five games following an ATS win
  • 0-3-1 ATS in their last four Saturday games

The Warriors controlled the paint on Thursday, outrebounding the Trail Blazers 50-37 and they also held a massive advantage in points in the paint, outscoring them 54-32, including 27 trips to the free-throw line against 18 by the Trail Blazers.

Third quarter play made a big difference in Game 2; the Warriors were 13-for-23 from the field in the 12 minutes after halftime, making six 3-pointers and recording 10 assists. Klay Thompson had 13 points in that quarter while Stephen Curry added 11. The Warriors outscored the Trail Blazers 39-24 to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter and is hard to bet against them here.

Pick: Warriors +2.5

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