MVP Stephen Curry produced a spectacular shooting show as Golden State Warriors evened the Western Conference finals series against Oklahoma City Thunder with a 118-91 win at Oracle Arena. In those situations, the Thunder averaged 80.0 points per 100 possessions, a significant drop from the 105.6 points per 100 possessions they averaged when Curry guarded Westbrook. We come back sharp the next game, and it’s a testament to everybody on this team’.
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The Warriors were not themselves in Game 1.
They held the rope until Curry got plain silly with 12 points in a span of 1 minute, 22 seconds that broke the game open midway through the third quarter.
The Warriors had led 57-49 at halftime, weathering the storm of Durant’s 23 points by breaking a tie with eight straight points in the final minute of the first half. “But leaders have to be at their best on the road”.
Basically, there were better looks for Stephen Curry in Game 2, which has proved to be a winning formula of historical proportions. They could have broken at any point during the regular season with the pressure of trying to break the 72-win mark, LeBron James’ Bill Lumbergh-like passive aggressive quotes and tweets, or when what seemed like every single National Basketball Association legend running to the nearest microphone to stay “this team is good but back in my day”.
But he was back in this one, after a slow shooting start and the crash and then the third-quarter eruption when the Warriors moved the ball beautifully and Curry just kept making shots.
The Warriors’ spurt was needed after Durant led the charge to erase what had been deficit of as many as nine points in the second quarter.
Kevin Durant had a game-high 29 points, but just six in the second half. “Guys in the locker room, we weren’t happy because we only won just one game”. The Thunder are 5-0 this postseason when both stars shoot at least 44 percent from the field. “He knows he didn’t have his best night in Game 1 and came out and played exceptionally well”. Oklahoma City had just five second-chance points. Even after Wednesday’s blowout, it’s pretty clear that this won’t be a short series. If Golden State lets their guard down the Thunder will not hesitate to take advantage of it. My body’s catching up and I think I’m there’. Oklahoma City responded by beating the Spurs in San Antonio 98-97 the next game, and the Thunder eventually took the series 4-2. The over/under is 220 points. The scene shifts to Oklahoma City for Game 3 on Sunday.
However Curry finished the game with a question mark over his fitness after an incident in the first quarter where he dove headfirst into the crowd as he chased a loose ball.
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Curry’s individual brilliance was the result of a process the Warriors focused on heading into the must-win: moving the ball and stretching the Thunder’s rangy defense for better shots.
