OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Portland Trail Blazers lost Game 1 of their first-round series to the top-seeded Golden State Warriors, but in the process found a winning recipe: have Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combine for 75 points on 51.8 percent shooting. 

Unfortunately for Portland (and every other playoff team, all of whom would love to see the Warriors begin their summer vacation a month early), it's just not a sustainable strategy. After letting the top-heavy Blazers hang around for three quarters, the Warriors blitzed them in the final quarter, using a total team effort to stymie the Blazers, turning a close game into a double-digit victory.

On Sunday at Oracle Arena, the Warriors fought off the eighth-seeded Blazers in Game 1 to win 121-109. It certainly wasn't easy. The Blazers gave the Warriors their best punch, and then the Warriors rendered that punch unworthy. 

"It was to me the perfect way to win Game 1," Steve Kerr said. "You get a real taste for what you're up against. You take a really good punch from your opponent. You see how good they are, but you're able to overcome everything and still get the win. So I like it."

At halftime, the score was deadlocked at 56 and the atmosphere was contentious, as Draymond Green engaged in what I imagine were some not-so-polite chats with members of the Blazers as they headed back to the locker room. Even though the game was played at Oracle, the Warriors really didn't have much of a right to be talking, because they had no answers for the Blazers' backcourt. 

At that point, the score was Warriors 56, Lillard/McCollum 48 (which means the Blazers' other players combined for eight points).

But these are the Warriors, a team that understands how to take a punch, adjust, and throw it right back at their opponents. So, that's what they did. They began pulling away late in the third quarter, riding JaVale McGee (seriously) and taking an eight-point lead. But a momentary lapse allowed the Blazers to draw even entering the fourth.  

There was no lapse in the final 12 minutes. With Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant on the bench to begin the fourth quarter, the Warriors went on an 11-2 run. Beating the full-strength Warriors is already a near-impossible task. Beating them without taking advantage of the moments when their two MVPs aren't on the court is impossible.

Usually, the Warriors can turn a deficit into a sizable advantage within seconds. Blink and you might miss it. You couldn't really miss it Sunday. Their run was more methodical. It involved flawless defense in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter as the Warriors turned a tie game into a double-digit lead.

The Blazers shot 29.2 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter after shooting 47.8 percent throughout the first three. 

So, what changed? According to Blazers coach Terry Stotts, the Warriors didn't really change much of anything schematically, besides trapping more on pick and rolls. For the most part, it came down to enhanced aggressiveness. 

Lillard agreed with his coach's assessment.

"Yeah, I thought they played more physical on the defensive end," he said. "In the playoffs, the more aggressive team, they're going to win more times than not. They're going to get the benefit of the doubt on the whistle. And there were some plays where they did one thing on defense and got away with it, and we did the same thing and didn't get away with it. I think that was because we weren't as aggressive as they were to start the half. It worked in their favor.

"So they definitely turned up the physicality and their intensity on that end of the floor."

Green led the charge. His final stat line was something to behold -- 19 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and five blocks -- but there's no real way to quantify what transpired. 

This video does do his impact justice, though:

That block came with 4:46 remaining in the game, as the Blazers mounted their final (and unsuccessful) charge. It wasn't Green's first rejection at the rim. He did something more incredible in the third quarter.

As two Blazers came down the court, Green represented the Warriors' only line of defense. First, Green forced Lillard to pass the ball from the perimeter. Then, as the ball traveled toward the hoop, Green retreated in time to block Noah Vonleh at the rim.

In one play, Green demonstated why he's the most versatile defensive player in the world.

"I mean, he played a game that I'm not sure anybody else in the league is capable of, honestly," Kerr said. "Who else can do what Draymond just did tonight? He's so unique and so important to us. He was phenomenal."

Green wasn't alone in blocking shots. McGee is actually the player who jumpstarted the Warriors' improved defensive play before the fourth quarter with his energy and, at certain points, recklessness. He made 3 of 4 shots, grabbed three offensive boards, and blocked two shots. With McGee on the court for nine minutes and 41 seconds, the Warriors outscored the Blazers by eight points.

In a brief stretch during the third quarter, McGee notched two blocks and two offensive rebounds that were purely the result of incredible effort. One of those boards set up a Curry 3 and another led to Curry free throws.

It really says something that this is the first time Curry's contributions have come up, especially considering he scored 29 points on 9 of 19 shooting. Heck, I haven't even really mentioned Durant to this point and he led the Warriors with 32 points on a 12 of 20 day. He's the one who iced the game on the offensive end with a couple key buckets in isolation. In his first playoff game with the Warriors, Durant didn't disappoint.

A year ago, the Blazers faced the 73-win Warriors in the playoffs. So, when Stotts said in his postgame presser that Durant gives the Warriors "a different dimension than last year," you know he understands what he's talking about.

"I mean, he makes up the difference for them," Lillard said. "I think you try to hold Klay and Steph down, make them take tough shots and make the game harder for them, and you know you're in a close game and you're going back and forth. Then you add Kevin Durant, guys who has been an MVP in this league, and that's a hell of an option to have, especially in a game like tonight."

It's telling that Curry and Durant didn't appear in this story until the end. And that's not good news for the Blazers, because it means the Warriors didn't rely solely on their MVPs to win the game. I've already mentioned McGee, but Ian Clark also deserves to be included. He scored 12 points in 12 minutes on 4 of 5 shooting, drilling both of his 3s. In what might've been his best stretch as Warrior, Clark nailed a 3 and then came away with great steal on a loose ball, which he turned into a transition layup in the second quarter. 

This was a total team effort from the Warriors in the second half, who clearly weren't at their best in the early going. Green showed the league why he should be named Defensive Player of the Year AND made his 3s. Curry and Durant supplied the points when the Warriors needed them. McGee and Clark provided sparks off the bench. 

So, there are two ways you can look at Sunday's result in terms of how it matters moving forward.

You can point to the Blazers' first-half success as an indicator that they have a chance to shock the Warriors. As Stotts said, "I don't think it's demoralizing that we competed extremely well for three quarters." That's a fair point. Give the Blazers credit for making the Warriors work for a win at home.

Or you can point to the fact that the Blazers got 75 points from Lillard and McCollum, limited Klay Thompson to 15 points, held Curry to three 3s, and still lost by double digits.