The NBA Finals are tied after the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 107-88 on Sunday night in Game 2. The Warriors’ masterclass performance in the third quarter turned the game into a rout.
Unlike in Game 1, Golden State held on to their lead in the fourth quarter to tie the series 1-1.
Stephen Curry scored 29 points, while Jordan Poole finished with 17 points, as Golden State improved to 5-0 after a loss this postseason. The Warriors also got 12 from Kevon Looney on 6-for-6 shooting and 11 apiece from Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson.
“I thought everybody was more engaged,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s pretty obvious. Just our level of force and physicality was ramped up quite a bit, and it had to be.”
Golden State took a two-point lead into halftime of what had so far been an even back-and-forth game. They took control in the third, winning the quarter 35-14. Poole provided the exclamation point as the third quarter closed, dribbling just over the midcourt stripe, shooting, and connecting on the long-range attempt.
Fans at the Chase Center in San Francisco leaped to their feet in celebration as the Warriors took a 23-point lead into the fourth.
Curry had 14 points in the third, making three of his five three-pointers in the quarter. While Boston was 4-for-15 shooting in the quarter, committing five turnovers that the Warriors turned into 11 points. Overall, Golden State scored 33 points off 19 Celtics turnovers.
Jayson Tatum finished with 28 points for Boston, but only seven came after halftime. Jaylen Brown added 17 but on 5-of-17 shooting. Tatum and Brown had 40 of Boston’s first 54 points as the rest of the supporting cast struggled to replicate Game 1s performance.
The Celtics hit 9-of-12 three-pointers in the fourth quarter of Game 1 to steal the victory, but there would be no such run in Game 2. The Warriors scored six straight points to open the fourth quarter to extend their 23-point lead to 29, and the Celtics waved the white flag by bringing in their reserves.
“We said we needed to play with desperation,” Curry said. “That’s what we did.”
All is not lost for Boston, who fell to 8-3 on the road in these playoffs.
Though 31 of the 36 teams that have opened a 2-0 series lead in the Finals have gone on to win, the Celtics need only to win their remaining home games to become champions. However, the Warriors have won at least one road game in an NBA-record 26 consecutive playoff series.
“It is what it is,” said the Celtics’ Al Horford, who had 26 points in Game 1 but was held to two points Sunday. “On to Game 3.”
Game 3 is in Boston on Wednesday.