MY ACCOUNT
The Golden State Warriors evened up the NBA Finals on Sunday, comfortably defeating the Boston Celtics 107-88 on Sunday.
Stephen Curry was at his transformative best, finishing up with 29 points on nine-of-21 shooting, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Pertinently, facing an 0-2 series deficit, putting Curry in high pick-and-roll actions with Draymond Green forced the Celtics into tricky defensive situations.
The Warriors were able to get the shots they wanted as a result of Curry’s presence, as well as the lingering injury troubles of Robert Williams III affecting Boston’s rim protection.
Gary Payton returned after his gruesome injury sustained against the Memphis Grizzlies and did not miss a beat in the Finals atmosphere, pitching in with seven points, three assists and three rebounds while providing critical defensive presence.
They scored 40 points in the paint over the game in comparison to the Celtics’ 24, while shooting 40.5 per cent from the perimeter.
This came despite Curry and Klay Thompson shooting a combined six-of-20 from beyond the arc.
After their offensive explosion in the fourth quarter to take the opening game, the Celtics shot 37.5 per cent from the floor, while 18 turnovers were critical.
The Dubs scored 33 points off those Celtics turnovers, blowing the game wout with a 35-14 third quarter, capped off with an extraordinary buzzer-beating three-pointer from half-court.
Marcus Smart was ineffective on both ends of the floor, failing to restrict Curry in pick-and-roll situations while going one-of-six from the floor and committing five turnovers.
