Warriors beat Blazers for 3-0 lead in West finals

(AP):

With Kevin Durant out, Draymond Green has taken it upon himself to boost Golden State.

And boy, has he.

Green had 20 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, and the Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 110-99 on Saturday night for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Green had his seventh career postseason triple-double and Stephen Curry scored 36 points for Golden State, which moved a win away from a fifth straight trip to the NBA finals with Game 4 set for today.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said it was one of the best games he's seen Green play.

"I don't even know what to say about Draymond," Kerr said. "He was a wrecking ball, destroying everything in his path."

Durant, the two-time NBA Finals MVP who was averaging more than 34 points during the play-offs, remains out with a sore right calf and his return is uncertain.

MORE AGGRESSIVE

"When Kevin is not on the floor, I know I have to be more aggressive. So whether that's attacking the basket, putting more pressure on the defence, I understand that," said Green, who has had a triple-double in each of the rounds during the play-offs -- all on the road.

C.J. McCollum had 23 points for the Trail Blazers, who led by 18 during the second quarter. Damian Lillard added 19 points, but Portland was hurt at the line, making just 20 of 33 attempts.

Golden State's Andre Iguodala left in the third quarter with a sore lower leg. Kerr said he will have an MRI on Sunday. Iguodala played 17 minutes and had nine points.

After trailing 66-53 at the half, the Warriors mounted a third-quarter comeback to lead 82-79 going into the fourth. Jonas Jerebko's jumper pushed the lead to 90-82 with 7:26 left.

Curry's 3-pointer made it 98-87 with just under five minutes to go, and Portland struggled to catch up -- similar to their fourth-quarter fade in Game 2.

Game 3 was the first conference finals game in Portland since 2000. The Blazers lost that series to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.

No team has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit to win in the play-offs. Only three series have gone to a seventh game after one team opened with a 3-0 lead.

"We're going to give it our best effort on Monday. That's all that matters," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "We're going to give it our best effort and whatever happen, happens."