Game 2 of the NBA Finals at Chase Center saw Golden State Warriors defeat Boston Celtics 107-88 on Sunday night, bringing the series to a 1-1 tie. The Celtics are prone to fall back into old, destructive habits regardless of the situation, and their issues with ball control and poor decision-making led to a hard loss on Sunday night. Check out the best bookmakers for betting on game 3!
Team superstar Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 29 points, making 5-of-12 3-pointers by exploiting the Celtics’ drop coverage against him. Jordan Poole finished with 17 points and five triples as he found his rhythm in the game. With a buzzer-beating heave near midcourt, Poole secured a 19-2 lead as the third quarter came to a close.
During the third quarter, Golden State bested Boston 35-14 to go from a two-point lead at halftime to a 23-point lead heading into the fourth. After scoring the first six points in the fourth quarter, the Celtics surrendered and emptied their bench.
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With Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and Al Horford—the heroes of Game 1—playing a much smaller offensive role, and despite a bounce-back 28-point effort from Tatum, Boston lost to Golden State 107-88 to tie the series at 1-1.
Celtics turnovers totaled 19 including 11 in the first half, which led to 33 points for the Warriors. Golden State, which dominated the third quarter in this series, crushed Boston with scores of 16-4 and 16-2. The Warriors won the game with a 23-point lead after Poole’s 39-foot midcourt heave. Aside from Tatum’s 6-for-9 3-point shot and Jaylen Brown’s additional 17 points, none of the other Celtics scored in double figures before halftime. Check out the top sports betting sites!
Similar to Game 1, a dominant run determined the outcome. In the second half, the Celtics embarked on a 48-18 run to seal the victory. As for Game 2, the Warriors turned a tie game into an absolute rout with a 43-14 run from late in the first half until early in the fourth quarter.
Despite that, Game 2 started with a more physical tone, starting with Green wrestling Horford for a jump ball. As they took a 22-13 lead early in the quarter, the Celtics struggled with foul problems, and despite two late 3-pointers from Tatum, they fell behind by one point at 31-30 following a Curry floater just before the quarter’s end.
Taking a pass in the final seconds of the third quarter, Poole dribbled over the midcourt line, creating some space for himself, and hit the shot. Curry smiled and hugged him. The crowd at Chase Center erupted into a frenzy, and the outcome was determined pretty much on the spot.
Finally, a Celtics loss was seen by the crowd inside the Warriors’ new arena. The Celtics entered the game with a 4-0 record in the Warriors’ 3-year-old arena, becoming the only team to win its first four games there.
The Celtics sought to join two other teams that also won two road games to open the finals. The 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets both won the championship, and 31 of the previous 36 teams that got off to 2-0 leads ended up celebrating a title.
Boston is not doomed yet. All they have to do is win their remaining home games to win the title. Even so, they will have a tough time going up against a team that has won at least one road matchup in an NBA-record 26 consecutive playoff series.
Game 3 takes place at TD Garden, Boston on Wednesday, June 8 at 9 PM ET (6 PM PT).
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