SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Just like in Game 1, the Golden State Warriors took command with a big third quarter.
Unlike Game 1, they did the job.
The NBA Finals are now tied after the Warriors turned a close game into a defeat with a masterpiece from the third quarter. Stephen Curry scored 29 points, Jordan Poole joined right in the middle of the court to complete the key period, and the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 107-88 on Sunday night in Game 2.
“I thought everyone was more involved,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after his team improved to 5-0 after losing in the playoffs. “It’s pretty obvious. It’s just that our level of strength and physical strength has increased a lot, and that’s what it had to be. “
Poole finished with 17 points for the Warriors, who outscored Boston 35-14 in the third quarter, turning the two-point lead into a 23-point lead. And when the Warriors then scored the first six points of the fourth, the Celtics waved the capitulation flag and emptied their bench.
“We said we had to play in despair,” Curry said. “That’s what we did.”
Golden State also received 12 from Kevan Looney in the 6-to-6 shootout and 11 each from Andrew Wiggins and Clay Thompson.
Jason Tatum scored 21 of his 28 points in the first half for Boston. Jaylan Brown added 17 for the Celtics, but fought in the night to shoot 5 against 17, and Derrick White scored 12.
Just like in Game 1, the huge draw decided everything. The Celtics made a 48-18 series in the second half to decide the start. The Warriors did not wait that long in Game 2, continuing 43-14 from the end of the first half to the beginning of the fourth quarter to turn a draw into an absolute escape.
Game 3 is Wednesday in Boston.
Curry had 14 of his points in the third, scoring three of his five 3 points in the fourth. Boston was 4 against 15 in the fourth, beating 21-6 in 3s and allowing the Warriors to turn five turnovers into 11 points.
“Steph was breathtaking in this neighborhood,” Kerr said.
The Celtics turned a 15-point deficit in the third quarter into a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter in Game 1, but that didn’t happen again on Sunday. Boston coach Ime Udoka even took a technical attempt to show his dissatisfaction with things, including whistles or lack thereof, to no avail.
“I just told them how I felt during the match in a demonstrative way, on purpose to get technical,” Udoka said.
Poole gave the exclamation mark at the end of the third quarter, making a pass in the final seconds, dribbling over the strip in the middle of the court, creating a little space and letting go.
Swish.
Curry greeted him with a smile and a hug, Chase Center fans jumped to their feet – if they weren’t already there – and the result was almost decided.
And for the first time, the audience in the new Warriors building finally saw the loss of the Celtics. Boston entered the 3-0 home of the Warriors 4-0 at night, the only team to win their first four games in the arena.
But the rejection of 33 points after 19 turns meant that this series had no chance to continue.
“We need to take better care of the ball,” Tatum said.
The Celtics have applied to join only two other teams – the Chicago Bulls in 1993 and the Houston Rockets in 1995 – on the list of clubs that have played in two games to reach the finals. These Bulls and Rockets won the championship, and 31 of the previous 36 teams, which opened with a 2-0 lead, eventually celebrated the title.
Not everything is lost for Boston. The Celtics only need to win their remaining home games to become champions, although this will not be easy against the Warriors, who have won at least one away game in the NBA’s record 26 consecutive playoff series.
“That’s what it is,” said Al Horford of the Celtics, who had 26 points in Game 1 and remained two points on Sunday. “Forward to Match 3.”
TYPE-INS
Celtics: The Celtics fell to 8-3 away in these playoffs. They remain tied for the second-largest road victories in a postseason; The record is nine set by Houston in 1995 … Robert Williams III, who struggled with knee problems during the playoffs, suffered a sharp drop in the third quarter after being hit by Marcus Smart. He was replaced 21 seconds later and did not return. … Tatum and Brown had 40 of Boston’s first 54 points.
Warriors: The influence of Draymond Green in Game 2: nine points, seven assists, five rebounds, a technical foul and a ton of physics. “No impact,” Horford said. … Andre Iguodala (inflammation of the right knee) was out for match 2 after scoring 12 minutes in match 1. But the knee swelled on Saturday and he sat for the 13th time in the last game of the Warriors 14 matches … Gary Peyton II is playing for the first time since breaking his elbow in the Memphis series.
BIG QUARTERS
The Warriors’ 35-14 advantage in the third quarter was the 91st different quarter in those playoffs, where one team had a double-digit advantage over the other. This is the most in a playoff year so far, surpassing the 90 such quarters in the 2017 playoffs.
GAME STATEMENT
Players and coaches on both teams wore orange T-shirts before the End of Gun Violence game, a topic that Kerr – whose father was killed in an act of gun violence 38 years ago – often talks about. “It comes down to convincing politicians that things like checks on the past are really crucial and things that don’t affect people’s rights under the Second Amendment,” Kerr said.
SPECTACULAL ANNIVERSARY
Sunday marked the 31st anniversary of the first NBA Finals victory for Michael Jordan when he and the Chicago Bulls passed the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 in 1991. Jordan made 13 consecutive shots in that game, the last of which was the iconic change-laying of hands in the air in the fourth quarter. “Michael Jordan’s spectacular move,” said NBC announcer Marv Albert.
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