CALIFORNIA – Stephen Curry sizzled in the third period before resting the entire fourth quarter as the Golden State Warriors deflated Boston Celtics, 107-88, in Game 2 of the 2021-2022 NBA Finals on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
Clinging to a 52-50 halftime lead, Curry scored on a layup, a three-pointer and free throws apart from conversions from Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney as the Warriors widened the lead to 68-56.
The Celtics threatened to within 62-68 on back-to-back triples from Grant Williams and Jayson Tatum, but two three-pointers each from Curry and Jordan Poole pushed the Warriors lead to 87-64.
Golden State went on to build its largest lead at 93-64 on inside baskets from Poole, Gary Payton Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica before Boston got late baskets to trim the deficit to final margin.
Curry finished the game with 29 points, including five treys, to go with six rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Poole contributed 17 markers as the Warriors tied the best-of-seven finale at 1-1.
Looney went perfect 6-of-6 on the field to finish with 12 points, Thompson and Andrew Wiggins each had 11, as Draymond Green ended with nine points and seven assists while also providing the much-needed physicality.
“We said we needed to play with desperation and that’s what we did,” said Curry. “It’s a good feeling to get back on track and now we’ve got to take it on the road.”
“We got off to a better start defensively where we made an imprint on the game and they felt us more than they did in game one. Our third quarter was great and we got a bit more separation that made the fourth quarter easier,” he added.
Boston were blazing to start the game with Jaylen Brown unloading nine early points to build a 16-9 edge but the Warriors slowly inched their way behind Curry, Green and Payton to take a 31-30 lead.
The Celtics zoomed to a 40-35 edge early in the second period but a 10-0 blast by Warriors, half of which were from Curry, gave them a 45-40 lead. They later settled for a 52-50 halftime edge on a late basket by Wiggins.
Tatum and Brown caught fire offensively early in the game to finish with 28 and 17 markers, respectively, while Derrick White chipped 12 points for the Celtics.
BOX SCORE:
GOLDEN STATE 107 — Curry 29, Poole 17, Looney 12, Wiggins 11, Thompson 11, Green 9, Payton 7, Bjelica 6, Porter 3, Moody 2, Lee 0, Toscano-Anderson 0, Kuminga 0.
BOSTON 88 — Tatum 28, Brown 17, White 12, G. Williams 6, Nesmith 4, Pritchard 4, Hauser 3, Stauskas 3, Fitts 3, R. Williams 2, Smart 2, Horford 2, Kornet 2, Theis 0.
Quarterscores: 31-30, 52-50, 87-64, 107-88./PN
