Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Game 2 vs. Thunder
1. Curry Can Be The Ultimate Decider
When the Thunder took a 47-46 lead in the second quarter, the Warriors looked out of sorts. The offense was dragging again, Curry wasn’t involved enough and OKC’s legitimacy in this matchup was all too real.
For a brief moment, that same worried murmur at Oracle Arena from Game 1 spread through the crowd. Could the Warriors really drop another game at home against an increasingly dangerous and resilient Thunder team?
Draymond and Klay exchange VERY heated words.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) May 19, 2016
The Dubs closed the half on an 11-2 run to take an eight-point lead into the break, but nobody in Oracle Arena was truly comfortable…until a Stephen Curry third quarter detonation completely overruled every other variable in the equation.
After averaging 30.5 points per game during the regular season, Steph Curry has yet to hit the 30-point plateau in this series against Oklahoma City. But in Game 2, the Warriors didn’t really need him to; one concentrated burst in the third quarter was enough to blow the Thunder away.
With 28 points in just 29 minutes, Curry ripped the game open in the third quarter, dropping 17 points in the period — including a personal 15-point run in a microscopic span of 1:58.
In the game, Curry shot 9-for-15 from the floor, 5-for-8 from downtown and made all five of his free throws. In that game-defining third quarter, however, Curry nearly outscored the Thunder by himself (19-17), knocking down five of his eight shots and three of his four three-pointers.
It’s not even about the point totals either. When you’ve got a guy bombing from the parking lot and turning around to stare you down before the ball even goes through the net, those are demoralizing plays for a defender.
Even in the next two games, on the road in a building where the hostile fans won’t be caving the roof in once Curry starts throwing daggers like that, these are the kinds of unguardable shots that the MVP regularly makes.
He didn’t do much of that in Game 1, but in Game 2, the world got to enjoy Curry in Human Torch mode once again, which was all the more impressive considering it had been almost 17 minutes since Curry scored before his third quarter onslaught began.
Most of all though, Game 2 was a nice reminder that when the Warriors are at their best (or even when it’s just Curry is at his best), there is no one in the NBA stacks up to this team.
More hoops habit: Golden State Warriors: 5 Keys To Beating The Thunder
That hasn’t always been the case in these playoffs, as it seems like the Cavaliers and Thunder are peaking at the right time instead. But if Game 2 truly did get the MVP and his team back on track, would anyone be surprised to see them close this series out in five games and repeat as NBA champs?