The Warriors wanted to “turn the page” after the cold shower of Game 1 and this fourth quarter where they had taken a terrible dip with nine three-point baskets conceded (40-16), enough to make them lose their 15 steps ahead. It’s done. Stephen Curry, spicy flavor with 29 points in three quarters, and an intractable defense allowed Golden State to largely win (107-88) against Boston, Sunday in San Francisco, to equalize with a victory everywhere in the final of the NBA.
“Everyone was more involved. Our physical commitment was increased and it had to be. We also had to be much more focused and aggressive,” summed up coach Steve Kerr. With a 23-point lead at the start of the last period, Golden State did not loosen the grip this time. Out of the question to leave the Celtics, certainly very clumsy (34%), the possibility of a new comeback.
A Sparkling Curry
Stephen Curry (6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 interceptions), already prolific in the first game (36 pts) despite his disappearance in the money-time, was again the locomotive of the Warriors in this 3rd quarter, planting 14 points including three baskets behind the arc. And did not even have to come off the bench in the last twelve minutes, synonymous with welcome rest.
“We had to play with the energy of desperation and that’s what we did. It’s a good feeling to get back on track. Now we have to do it at home,” he commented. Overall, Curry has been remarkably narrow in his initiatives. It is obviously too early to draw conclusions, because the champion is far from known, but the leader delivers an MVP performance that he has never been in the NBA finals, despite three rings (2015, 2017, 2018 ).
During this time and even throughout, the Californian defense was fierce, especially inside (24 points scored by Boston, 40 by Golden State), like Draymond Green (9 pts, 5 rebounds, 7 assists ). Golden State was so deterrent that Boston lost 18 balls and was intercepted 15 times.
Faced with the Warriors who welcomed them with the bit between their teeth, the Celtics did not redouble their efforts at the end of the second period. Might as well save: two matches are looming in their TD Garden cauldron, N.3 on Wednesday.
A sports and political evening
This second match also gave birth to a mobilization against firearms. Players and coaches from both teams wore “End gun violence” t-shirts before the game.
A few hours earlier, a new shooting had broken out in the streets of Philadelphia, killing three and wounding eleven. A drama that comes as the country is still traumatized by the shooting that occurred on May 24 in a school in Texas (21 dead including 19 children).
Several American sports teams (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, WNBA) had decided to take a stand this weekend, after the sequence of two mass killings in the latter. 75 of them are expected to participate in “Wear Orange Weekend”, an annual event, which began on Friday to advocate for an end to gun violence, according to the NGO Everytown for Gun Safety.