The Golden State Warriors crushed the Boston Celtics 107-88 on Sunday to even 1-1 the NBA Finals, ignited by an exhibition by Stephen Curry with 29 points in just three quarters.
The Warriors, who let the first win slip away on Thursday with a fourth-quarter debacle, took it upon themselves to avoid surprises this time with a dream second half before his audience at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
“We came out with the right energy and focus,” Curry stressed. “We said we had to play desperately and that’s what we did.”
With 28 points and 6 triples, forward Jayson Tatum was one of the few positive notes for the Celtics, who once more failed to protect the ball with up to 18 turnovers.
“Those turnovers and our poor offense contributed to their streaks,” Boston coach Ime Udoka said. “A team that scores as well as them doesn’t need us to help them.”
Shooting guard Jaylen Brown had 17 points for Boston but the rest of the starting lineup -Dominican Al Horford, Marcus Smart and Robert Williams- barely scored 2 points each.
“Those two guys (Tatum and Brown) create a lot of play. We contained the rest and made it difficult for them,” Curry said. “Our third quarter it was great and we got enough distance that the last one was a little bit easier tonight”.
The point guard caught fire in the third quarter with 14 points that pushed the Golden State to a 35-14 run, culminating in a triple from almost midfield by Jordan Poole (17).
In just 32 minutes on the court, Curry added 5 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals to his tally in his 30th career late game.
At 34 years old, the point guard is determined to reach his fourth NBA ring and add it this time to his first MVP in a final, one of the few awards he has not received.
“They got away with it”
The Warriors turned the page on their resounding collapse in the fourth quarter on Thursdaywhen Boston rallied from a 12-point lead to win 120-108.
Jaylen Brown, the main architect of that comeback, picked up the pace this Sunday with 9 points in an early 13-5 run for Boston as Steve Kerr tried to slow him down once morest the ferocious Draymond Green.
Green was on the brink of being sent off for a second technique before the break, when he left his legs on top of Brown as they both fell to the ground and then gave him a slight push.
“That’s what Draymond Green does. He will do whatever it takes to win,” stated Brown. “They put it on me to be physical, muddy the game, grab me and, in general, increase the intensity. I think they got away with it tonight”.
“Curry sets the tone on offense and my job is to set the tone on defense. And I wanted to do it from the beginning”, justified Green, who finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Warriors try to exploit their enormous experience in the finals, where they have competed six times since 2015, once morest the Celtics who are seeing each other on the biggest stage for the first time.
Half court triple
Facing a more intense defense from Golden State, the Celtics relied heavily on Tatum and Brown, who had 26 of the 30 points in the first quarter.
Tatum, who had 21 points at halftime, bounced back from his lackluster finals debut on Thursday with just 12 points.
On the other side, Curry carried the weight of the Warriors’ offense before young Jordan Poole joined him for a third-quarter explosion.
The Celtics had gone to the locker room with only one point behind (51-50) but, As usual, the Warriors moved up a gear and Curry he unleashed the storm with several impossible baskets, including three spectacular triples.
Jordan Poole imitated him with a triple from almost half field on the horn that vibrated the stands of the Chase Center.
“It was a great shot to get the public into the game,” Curry recognized him. Poole “is capable of that. We shoot from half court in every practice and we have a competition going on and he took the lead on that shot.”
With an advantage for the Warriors of 23 points (87-64), both Curry and the Celtics figures were reserved in the last quarter for the third battle of the series, which will take place on Wednesday at the TD Garden in Boston.
With information from AFP
