Steven Adams and Serge Ibaka had 12 points in game 2, after combining for 27 during game 1. Although being a very close game up until the last 0:41 of the first half, Andre Iguodala’s late heroics brought much needed momentum for this Warriors team being down in the series 1-0. If either team were playing anywhere near their best it would have been a blow-out by the break, but the rhythm was off, turnovers were high and offensive execution down.
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The Thunder got caught up in Golden State’s game, and they couldn’t keep up with their shooters. “But he’s got to do a better job and we’ve got to do a better job creating open avenues and gaps for him to either pass it or drive it when teams elect to kind of send somebody at him and provide a lot of help on him”. Their defense in the second half was sublime, frustrating Kevin Durant and making Russell Westbrook into the mistake-prone, bad-decision making point guard he too often is, quite the opposite to his game 1 persona. He had flames shooting out of his ears in the second quarter and finished with 29 points, right in line with his career average against the Dubs.
Green led the Warriors in both rebounds with eight and assists with seven. “We come back sharp the next game, and it’s a testament to everybody on this team”.
After dropping Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals to the Thunder, the Golden State Warriors felt a sense of urgency for Game 2 Wednesday night.
The Thunder also won the turnover battle in game 1 and I have been doing some brainstorming about a possible wrinkle Thunder head coach Billy Donovan might throw at the Warriors on Sunday to recapture that edge. When the Warriors are hot, everything works for them. The Thunder need to minimize on these, especially in the second half.
The Warriors will be feeling confident after squaring up the series but the Thunder achieved their goal by getting the split on the road.
The Warriors must focus on the Thunder’s often-poor defence.
Curry had all-but wrapped up the MVP award before the shot heard round the world, but it without a doubt poured gasoline onto his exploding legacy, and will be included in every highlight package for decades to come. “Maybe I just got to shoot over three people”. Their defensive schematics in game 2 can be summarized into one theme: Let Kevin Durant score… but nobody else. Fall behind against the Warriors like that again, and there will be no coming back.
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“It’s kind of risky, but I don’t know how you can play hard and do what you need to do in those situations – 50-50 balls, whatever – with any doubt in your mind of alright you’re going to protect yourself, especially in a playoff situation”, Curry said.
