Portland makes the shift, then Golden State changes the game

4:12 AM ET

OAKLAND, Calif. — C.J. McCollum has learned a harsh reality during the NBA postseason.

“There’s no consolation in the playoffs,” the Portland Trail Blazers’ guard said after a gut-wrenching 110-99 Game 2 loss to the Golden State Warriors. “You either win or you lose. It doesn’t matter what the score is. It doesn’t matter how hard you competed.”

The Trail Blazers didn’t trail in Tuesday night’s game until the 43rd minute, and before that, they hadn’t sustained any prolonged stretch when they couldn’t find a good look at the basket. For more than three quarters, they executed a viable plan to beat the defending champs at Oracle Arena.

They stretched the Warriors in transition to create open shots for McCollum and Damian Lillard. Al-Farouq Aminu and Mason Plumlee thrived as playmakers when guards were harassed up high. The defense played bigger than it was, as coach Terry Stotts redistributed his length around the floor to better leverage matchups. The Trail Blazers also picked up some nice loose change at the margins, such as the Gerald Henderson-Ed Davis pick-and-roll combo near the end of the first quarter that yielded a couple of buckets, as well as a couple of putbacks from Mo Harkless.

“We played how we talked about wanting to play on film,” Lillard said. “We played hungry. We played physical. We did it together. We were not fun to play against tonight, defensively or offensively. It wasn’t easy what we went out there and did.”

The most vital point of that plan was Lillard himself, doing unspeakable things to the Warriors’ vaunted defense. The flare screens, pin-downs, …

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