Matt Steinmetz

One of 16 is in the books.

It might not have been a thing of beauty, it might not have been their signature game and it may not even be the precise way the Warriors wanted to start the playoffs … but all that matters is they protected their home-court in Game 1 with a 121-109 win over the Blazers at Oracle.

The Warriors used a 15-2 start to the fourth quarter to finally give themselves some wiggle room against a Blazers’ team that got incredible performances from their backcourt twosome of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.

The Warriors, who lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals a year ago, need 15 more wins to claim their second championship in three years. The Warriors didn’t play like champions all game, but they sure did in the fourth quarter, outscoring Portland 33-21.

LINK to “Warriors WrapUp,” the postgame show from Warriors’ 121-109 win over Blazers in Game 1 of the playoffs.

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The Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers are set to start their first-round series Sunday afternoon at Oracle Arena. For the Warriors, they’ll begin the process of trying to exorcise the demons of last year’s Game 7 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

Here’s some good stuff to get you ready for Game 1:

Interview with Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune.

Interview with Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post.

Interview with Tim Roye, the voice of the Warriors.

The Warriors ended their regular season on Wednesday night with a 109-94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Oracle Arena. It might as well have been the end of a long preseason.

Everyone knew the Warriors, coming off an NBA Finals appearance and acquiring Kevin Durant, were going to be a playoff team. And most figured they’d probably be the No. 1 seed in the West, too. And after finishing this season 67-15 that’s exactly what they are.

For the Warriors, the real season begins Sunday afternoon at 12:30, when they host the Portland Trail Blazers in Oakland. The Warriors would love to make short work of the Blazers, a team they’ve beaten 11 out of 12 times in the past three regular seasons. Last year, the Warriors eliminated Portland in five games.

LINK TO “WARRIORS WRAPUP” POSTGAME SHOW FROM WARRIORS’ WIN OVER LAKERS.

The two big priorities when it came to Wednesday’s game was for the Warriors to stay healthy and for Kevin Durant to use the game as a final tune-up for the playoffs. Durant missed 19 games after injuring his left knee, but returned for the final three games of the regular season.

LINK: CLOSE CALL BUT HARDEN WINS MVP BY SLIVER OVER WESTBROOK.

Durant looked like he was in peak form, scoring 29 points in 27 minutes on 11-for-16 shooting. Durant, who missed all nine of his 3-point attempts in his first two games back knocked down 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.

The only injury of note for the Warriors heading into the postseason is a sprained right ankle/foot for Matt Barnes. He is unlikely to be ready for Game 1 against the Blazers.