Warriors Strike Back in Gold-blooded fashion

Stephen Curry has 29 points in 32 minutes and Draymond Green does Draymond Green-like things, in leading Golden State to a Game 2 win to tie the series as it shifts to Boston for Games 3 and 4.

SAN FRANCISCO – Down double digits going into the fourth quarter.

It was indeed a deja vu moment for the Boston Celtics.

But there would be no comeback for the Boston Celtics on this night as the Golden State Warriors refused to wilt this time.

In fact, the Warriors would get stronger as the game wore on before it finally ended with Golden State victorious, 107-88.

Each of the first three quarters ended with a Golden State basket in the closing seconds, plays that punctuated what had transpired for most of that quarter.

Trailing 87-64 going into the fourth quarter after a Jordan Poole buzzer-beater from just inside the half-court line, the Celtics were never able to make a sizeable dent in Golden State’s lead.

In fact, Golden State would push its lead to as many as 29 points in the fourth quarter behind strong play at both ends of the floor. Boston head coach Ime Udoka had seen enough and emptied the bench for most of the fourth.

Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Boston’s Game 2 loss.

STARS

Stephen Curry: Boston managed to keep him from having an efficient scoring night, but the points still managed to flow nonetheless. He led all scorers with 29 points on 9-for-21 shooting from the field.

Jayson Tatum: The scoring was back on point, but Jayson Tatum’s imprint on the game wasn’t nearly large enough to make a major difference in Boston’s favor. Golden State did a much better job of not allowing Tatum space to find others, which he did a lot of in Game 1 when he tallied 13 assists (the most by a player in their first NBA Finals game). He would finish the night with 28 points to go with three assists and six rebounds.

STUDS

Draymond Green: The scoring, rebounding and playmaking were all good. But Draymond Green’s ability to impact the game with his presence (and get a few friendly whistles and non-whistles) was undeniable. He scored nine points to go with five rebounds and seven assists.

Kevon Looney: Kevon Looney’s presence was one of the low-key secrets to Golden State getting the victory to even up this series. He would finish with 12 points along with seven rebounds.

DUDS

Boston’s turnovers: Not only were they giving the ball up at an alarming rate, but they allowed Golden State far too many opportunities to score off their miscues. For the game, Boston committed 19 turnovers which led to 33 points for the Warriors.

Jaylen Brown: Like many of the Boston Celtics players, getting shots to fall was not in the cards tonight. He had 17 points for the game but did so on 5-for-17 shooting from the field.

Klay Thompson: It’s hard to tell at this point if Klay Thompson’s struggles are simply a function of rust, Boston’s defense or him losing a step or two at both ends of the floor because of his long history of injuries. But one thing is clear: he is not shooting the ball well in this series. In Game 2 he had just 11 points on 4-for-19 shooting from the field.