OAKLAND, Calif. -- Stephen Curry had all kinds of room for a change and capitalized, finding his shooting touch in a hurry to get Golden State on a roll.
Portland's defenders were too far back in the lane or a step behind all night.
"Practice shots," Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard said of Curry's wide-open chances.
Making it look easy, Curry made nine three-pointers on his way to a game-high 36 points, leading the two-time defending champions past the Trail Blazers 116-94 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals.
"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," said Curry, who came in shooting 37.1% on three-pointers this postseason. "Obviously it's nice to see the ball go in. I didn't shoot the ball well for 41/2 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."
Curry shot 12 for 23 in his fourth 30-point performance this postseason, finding far more open looks than he had in the last round against Houston. The two-time NBA MVP outplayed the Portland duo of Lillard and CJ McCollum, who combined to go 11 for 31 against a strong Golden State defense.
"It's good to see Steph have a game like that at a time that obviously [when] we need him most," Draymond Green said.
Klay Thompson had 26 points. Green established the energy on both ends early for the Warriors, finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
Lillard scored 19 points back home in Oakland, just miles away from where he grew up. He appreciated all the support but wants to stick to basketball.
"That's part of what makes it special, I'm from here," Lillard said. "I could walk home from here if I wanted to, that tells you how close it is."
McCollum had 17 but missed 5 of his 6 three-pointers as the cold-shooting Blazers went just 7 for 28 from long range.
Game 2 is Thursday night, and the Warriors are unlikely to have Kevin Durant back from a strained right calf. An update on Durant's status is expected that day once the two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP is re-examined.
"I think we played a terrible game, and we still had a chance going into the fourth quarter," McCollum said, "so we need to tighten some things up and look forward to the game on Thursday."
Curry came off screens with authority and matched his postseason career high for three-pointers, also accomplished in Game 1 of last year's finals against Cleveland. He found his groove far earlier than in the Game 6 clincher at Houston on Friday night, when he scored all 33 of his points in the second half.
Little brother Seth struggled with three points for Portland, which shot 36.1% overall.
"It's not one-and-done. We've got a series. It's one loss," Blazers Coach Terry Stotts said. "We've got to play better, particularly at the offensive end, but we've got to be better at both ends."
Lillard hit a game-winning three-pointer with 6.3 seconds remaining in overtime Dec. 27 in his last regular-season game at Oracle Arena. He averaged 28.3 points and 6.5 assists in four regular-season games against Golden State this season.
He arrived for Game 1 in a custom Oakland Athletics baseball jersey having averaged 30 points in his nine previous playoff matchups against the Warriors.
Green has at least 10 rebounds in six consecutive playoff games, matching his postseason career-best streak of six also done last year.
"This series is going to get tougher and tougher," Green said.
NBA playoffs
CONFERENCE FINALS
(Best-of-7)
TUESDAY'S GAME
Golden State 116, Portland 94
Golden State leads series 1-0
TODAY'S GAME
All times Central
Toronto at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m.
First game of series
THURSDAY'S GAME
Portland at Golden State, 8 p.m.
FRIDAY'S GAME
Toronto at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m.
Sports on 05/15/2019