Stephen Curry

What the Golden State Warriors did against the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night was the definition of "response.

The Warriors scored 33 points off of turnovers in Game 2, 18 more than the Celtics. They won the game by 19 points. Klay Thompson shot 4-of-19 from the field in Game 2. Their championship hopes rely on the best version of him showing up more often than the worst, but on a night-to-night basis, the Warriors don't seem to know which one they're going to get. Andrew Wiggins has had a slow start to the Finals. Right now, Curry is generating almost everything on offense for Golden State. Thompson isn't exactly a high-usage ball-handler, but the offense runs much more smoothly when the Warriors can at least rely on him to make open shots and generate some of his own looks inside of the arc. Not coincidentally, the Celtics committed 18 turnovers in Game 2, five more than they did in Game 1. Thompson shot below 40 percent from the field in 15 of his 32 regular-season games. The problem with extended Payton minutes is that Boston has little interest in guarding him on the perimeter. The moment he decided to try to play drop-coverage against Stephen Curry should have been the moment Ime Udoka decided to banish him for the rest of the series. The Celtics managed to get outscored by 12 points in the seven competitive minutes he played in this game. The game was extremely close through the first 24 minutes, but in the third quarter, the Warriors kicked it up a notch and gained some serious separation. Horford and Smart combined for 44 points in Game 1. Jayson Tatum paced the Celtics with 28 points and six rebounds, but his production wasn't enough as only two other Celtics players scored in double figures.

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics to even the NBA Finals at 1-1.

Going down 2-0 with both losses coming at home would have certainly been a gut punch, so the Warriors rightfully approached this game with the appropriate sense of urgency. While each win just counts as one, a dominant effort like this will certainly give the Warriors some additional confidence as they head into what projects to be a hostile environment in Boston. It was mostly Steph Curry for the first half of this game, with both Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole struggling; however, a flurry from Poole to end the third quarter helped give Golden State a comfortable lead entering the final frame.

The Golden State Warriors outscored the Boston Celtics 35-14 in the third quarter en route to a 107-88 win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.

They outscored Boston 35-14 in that third quarter. Feels like Jordan Poole was making a statement with those two big 3's at the end of the third quarter. Curry hit back-to-back threes in the latter run.

Every game of the NBA Finals is live on Sky Sports: Watch Warriors @ Celtics – Game 3, live on Sky Sports Arena & Main Event, on Wednesday night from 1.45am ...

Now the series moves to Boston where they will be looking to regain home advantage by taking a game at TD Garden, beginning live on Sky Sports late on Wednesday night. He ended the game shooting 4-of-19 from the field and just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. The 33 points-off-turnovers the Warriors scored, as opposed to just 15 for Boston, was probably one of the pivotal statistics in the game. Some of that was down to adjustments the Warriors made. In Game 2 on Sunday night, Stephen Curry put in another inspired performance – this time aided by his team-mates to a much greater extent – and they completed a 107-88 blowout win to level the series. By the end of the game, that percentage had dropped to just over 40.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green had a better effort in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Having dominated Game 2, winning in convincing fashion, there will certainly be an increased level of confidence that Golden State will be able to take on the road with them. And that gives us a lot of life, so I know he took Game 1 personally in terms of getting back to his standard, and it was great to see." Green, who struggled mightily in Game 1, turned in a better performance in the blowout win, and Steph was happy to see it.

Every game of the NBA Finals is live on Sky Sports: Watch Warriors @ Celtics – Game 3, live on Sky Sports Arena & Main Event, on Wednesday night from 1.45am ...

Now the series moves to Boston where they will be looking to regain home advantage by taking a game at TD Garden, beginning live on Sky Sports late on Wednesday night. He ended the game shooting 4-of-19 from the field and just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. The 33 points-off-turnovers the Warriors scored, as opposed to just 15 for Boston, was probably one of the pivotal statistics in the game. Some of that was down to adjustments the Warriors made. In Game 2 on Sunday night, Stephen Curry put in another inspired performance – this time aided by his team-mates to a much greater extent – and they completed a 107-88 blowout win to level the series. By the end of the game, that percentage had dropped to just over 40.

Stephen Curry helps power a big third-quarter run for the Golden State Warriors in a 107-88 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Boston entered the night 4-0 in the Warriors’ three-year-old home, the only team to have won its first four games in the arena. Boston was four for 15 in the quarter, got outscored 21-6 on threes, and let the Warriors turn five turnovers into 11 points. Poole finished with 17 points for the Warriors, who outscored Boston 35-14 in the third quarter to turn a two-point halftime lead into a 23-point edge. The Warriors didn’t wait that long in Game 2, going on a 43-14 burst from late in the first half until early in the fourth quarter to turn a tie score into an absolute runaway. Stephen Curry scored 29 points, Jordan Poole connected from just inside of midcourt to cap the pivotal quarter, and the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 107-88 on Sunday night in Game 2. “I thought everybody was more engaged,“ Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after his team improved to 5-0 after a loss in these playoffs.

However, in Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals, Stephen Curry proved that's no slouch on defense either. In one of the Warriors' trademark third-quarter runs, Curry ...

Curry leading the charge on defense is what makes this Warriors team run smoothly. Curry might be small compared to his NBA peers, but his effort on defense is what propels him on that end. In one of the Warriors’ trademark third-quarter runs, Curry peppered the Celtics with timely threes and fearless forays to the rim.

In the Warriors' 107-88 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night at Chase Center, Curry scored 29 points on 9-of-21 shooting ...

Those two, plus Steph, have an extensive history of success in the Finals. Curry and the Warriors will head to TD Garden in Boston for Game 3 on Wednesday with the series tied at one game apiece. Steph has carried Golden State's offense in each of the first two games and found himself among elite company after another stellar performance in Game 2.

The Celtics got a split in San Francisco, but they are packing some concerns as the NBA Finals shifts to Boston for Game 3 Wednesday night.

Four or five players need to give the Celtics 10-plus points each game for Boston to compete with Golden State's offensive firepower. These points swung the game in Golden State's favor. In fact, the C's are 0-5 when they turn the ball over 16 or more times in a game this postseason. Whenever they turn the ball over a lot, it almost always results in a loss. They've averaged 29 points in third quarters during the playoffs. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the night for the Warriors was Jordan Poole finding some confidence offensively with 17 points after a poor Game 1 performance.

Curry knew just what his team needed in a must-win game on Sunday, and delivered at every turn.

"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," Curry said of his defensive evolution. With all his offensive exploits, it would be easy to ignore what Curry did on the defensive side of the ball, particularly in the third quarter. It's just always about being confident with the ball in my hands and making plays." Then he reads Williams cutting under the basket for a potential layup and slides to deflect Horford's pass before the Celtics knew what hit them. Klay Thompson, who said the team needed to play with "desperation," was desperate to make a shot -- going just 1 for 5 from the field and 0 for 3 from 3-point range in the first quarter en route to a horrific 4-for-19 shooting night. The second quarter was a similar slog, with the Warriors continually either missing or being denied on what are normally uncontested layups due to the length, size and skill of the Celtics defense. Kerr and the Warriors have preached all year that Curry doesn't get enough recognition for his defense, and Sunday provides ample evidence for their assertion. Curry was brilliant offensively in the third and deciding quarter, scoring 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting, including 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. He was certainly doing the work he's required to do for this team to reach the necessary level of aggression to survive against a team as good as Boston. On the surface, it didn't seem like Curry was dominating the game, but lo and behold the Warriors somehow held a 31-30 lead after the first quarter. Whether it was Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Mohamed or just Curry's plain old basketball genius, he lifted the Warriors in a game they simply couldn't afford to lose, putting up 29 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals on 5-for-12 3-point shooting against myriad defensive looks and relentless physicality from the Celtics. The idea is that a leader moves in silence, inserting himself subtly only when he has to, ceding the glory to his team.

Stephen Curry answered the bell in Game 2 of the NBA Finals as he led the Golden State Warriors to a 107-88 win over the Boston Celtics.

The fact of the matter, however, is that whatever he does on defense just gets overshadowed by his spectacular offense. While Curry will never become an elite defender, he has improved big time on that aspect of his game and it should be recognized. The guy is amazing, he just keeps working on his game, his strength, his conditioning, year after year.