The Thunder trailed just 64-57 midway through the third quarter before Curry scored 15 straight Warriors points during a two-minute span, including three 3-pointers.
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The two-time Most Valuable Player scored 15 points in one minute, 58 seconds in the third quarter, one brash attempt after another falling through the hoop, to lift the Warriors to a 118-91 Game 2 victory.
Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals demonstrated once again how Stephen Curry can win games on his own for the Golden State Warriors, and all he needs are a couple of minutes of playing the kind of basketball no one in the NBA has an answer for.
Golden State looked more like the team that broke the Bulls’ record for wins in the regular season in Game Two of the Western Conference Finals, not the team that looked “off” against the Thunder the game before.
The playoffs, though, have a way of speeding up time and making the immediate past into ancient history, and when Curry walked into the arena Wednesday night, it was Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook who had been unstoppable most recently. However, the Warriors were able to respond with relative ease and now the West Finals are all knotted up at 1-1 and everyone is looking ahead to Game 3 as the series moves to Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Even if the Warriors can’t restrict Westbrook’s open-floor exploits to the degree they did in Game 2, they’ve proven capable of slowing him down.
What was supposed to be the first step to back-to-back championships turned into a nightmare for the Golden State Warriors.
Despite the fantastic play that OKC Thunder displayed in Game 1, they made a series of turnovers, lazy offense, and careless passing which cost them Game 2.
“That’s huge”, forward Draymond Green said.
Oklahoma City’s 14-point comeback in Game 1 was the largest against the Warriors this postseason. In the 108-102 loss on Monday, the Warriors got only 16 points and 12 rebounds from their reserves.
It was an even tussle till Warriors star Curry went on a 15-point spree in the third quarter which extended the hosts’ lead to 79-59. “I was trying to make the right pass”, Durant said. He scored 17 points in the third quarter, including a 90-second stretch where he scored 12, basically turning into a human flamethrower. Game 2 was the first time they out-rebounded Oklahoma City in their five matchups this season. But a different Westbrook and Thunder came out for the second half.
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The first quarter began with an ugly start for both teams, as in the first half of the quarter both teams combined for 9 turnovers. What changed? Curry scored 17 of his 28 points in the third quarter alone, nearly outscoring the entire Oklahoma City team, which scored 19.
