SAN FRANCISCO – One shot, a pull-up 3-pointer from the left wing, was all it took for Klay Thompson and the Warriors to finally breathe, after which they squeezed the Celtics into surrender Sunday night in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Klay’s first 3-ball of the game gave the Warriors a seven-point lead with 9:23 remaining in the third quarter and prompted an immediate timeout from Boston coach Ime Udoka. He didn’t know what was coming.
Udoka did know, even with 21 minutes remaining in the game, what was possible: A third-quarter blast from the Warriors, with Steph Curry at the center of it. If Klay got going, too, Boston was doomed.
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Klay’s triple put the Celtics on notice and energized the sellout crowd at Chase Center. It was, for Steph, something of a signal. The threat of Klay and some devastating team defense was all Steph needed to carry the Warriors through a searing third quarter that powered a 107-88 victory, tying the best-of-seven series at 1-1 as it moves to Boston for Game 3 on Wednesday.
“Steph was breathtaking in that quarter,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Not just the shot-making but the defensive effort. He just doesn't get enough credit for his level of conditioning, physicality and defense.”
Curry, who finished with a game-high 29 points, was an enormous factor on both ends – particularly in that pivotal third quarter.
Steph scored 14 points in the third, including three 3-pointers, the last two of which gave the Warriors leads of 14 and 17 points late in the quarter. Klay’s 3-ball touched off a 23-10 run during which Curry scored 12 points in a little more than six minutes. He was a preposterous plus-21 for the quarter.
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“He does a lot on (offense), but he does a lot on the defensive side, too,” said Gary Payton II, who played 25 minutes in his first action since sustaining a fractured elbow on May 3. “He's in the right spots at the right time. He had, what, three steals tonight?”
Curry, who indeed picked up three steals, was crucial in the Warriors limiting Celtics star Marcus Smart to two points, with Derrick White scoring 12 on 4-of-13 shooting. Boston made attempts to target Steph, but simply didn’t have much success.
“People go at him to try to wear him down because they know how important he is to us offensively,” Kerr said. “And it's pretty dramatic, the difference in Steph's strength and physicality in his body now than from eight years ago when I first got here. The guy's amazing.”
By winning the third quarter 35-14, the Warriors raised their two-point halftime lead to 23 entering the fourth quarter. They defended at championship level, holding Boston to 4-of-17 shooting while also forcing five turnovers, off which they scored 11 points.
This is how Steph ended up at the podium talking about the atypical subject of his defense.
“It's always been a point of emphasis in terms of trying to win basketball games and do your job,” the 12-year veteran said. “Over the course of my career, it's been a physical development that's happened over time that obviously helps, a lot of work that's gone into that. But from my rookie year to now, it's always been about effort and just a care factor, overcoming physical limitations with matchups or whatever it is. If you try hard, good things will happen. And you'll continue to get better.
“It's always been a point of emphasis. Just better at it now.”
But of course, any impact from Steph will include offense. Always. And that’s what Udoka feared with that quick timeout. When either Steph or Klay drains a homecourt 3-pointer, particularly after struggling with their shot, it sends a wave of swagger through the entire team and building. A single 3-ball from either can shift the momentum.
“When Klay hits shots, it gets us going,” Draymond Green said, echoing the sentiment of every coach in the NBA.
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Even though Klay had a woeful shooting night, going 4-of-19 from the field, his only 3-ball in eight attempts changed the energy. The teams were within five points of each other throughout the second quarter, so a seven-point lead for the Warriors, courtesy of someone who had missed nine of his first 10 shots, puts the Boston bench on high alert.
“Getting him clean looks against a defense like that is tough,” Kevon Looney said of Thompson. “So, when we get some free easy ones, and he made it, it got the whole team going and we kind of fed off that energy.”
No one exploited it more than Curry, who the cue and ran with it.
On a night when the Warriors were on the edge of desperation, he backed up a strong Game 1 performance with an even more impactful achievement in Game 2.