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NBA: 24 thoughts on Game 2 of 2022 NBA Finals

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Game recap: Warriors 107, Celtics 88 (Series tied, 1-1)

• Complete coverage: 2022 NBA Finals

The Celtics struck first in the 2022 NBA Finals, as they rallied back from 15 points down behind a brilliant fourth quarter to steal the opener — and home-court advantage — in San Francisco. With the Celtics looking to be greedy and take a 2-0 lead back to Boston for Games 3 and 4, the Warriors found themselves facing a near must-win game early in the series to avoid a dreaded 2-0 deficit. After trading haymakers in Game 1, which team would land the convincing blow in Game 2?

Here are 24 thoughts on Game 2 as it unfolded in the Bay.

24: The Celtics get off to a strong start in Game 2, taking a quick 13-5 lead behind nine points from Jaylen Brown. There is a decent contingent of Celtics fans in the arena tonight as Brown’s 3-pointers draw cheers from part of the crowd.

After Al Horford brought out the flex on Draymond Green in Game 1, it was Green’s turn early in Game 2 following a 3-point play.

23: Klay is ice cold to start this game, missing his fist three shots (all from 3), including an airball on the third attempt. He finally gets a bucket off a fadeaway in the lane on a nice cut and dish from Green. With Klay and Steph each stuck on two points midway through the first, it’s nothing like Thursday night when Steph was unconscious from deep.

22: With 5:30 to play in the first, Jordan Poole and Gary Payton II check in. Payton gets a huge ovation from the crowd for checking in for his first action since breaking his elbow on a nasty fall in Game 2 against Memphis on May 3.

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Welcome back, Gary Payton II 🤩 #NBAFinals presented by YouTube TV

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21: The Warriors trail early partly due to the fact that can’t make an open layup; they have missed three so far in the first quarter — one by Klay, one by Wiggins and another by Curry. All of the looks are coming off good drives to the basket, but they have to finish. This Boston defense is too good not to take advantage of easy looks.

20: We’ve got a technical foul on Green. Be right back, checking to see where he sits on the technical accumulation in the playoffs … This is Green’s fourth tech of the postseason; seven equals an automatic one-game suspension.

I’ve got a feeling Draymond may set this record before the end of the series:

19: Jaylen Brown stays hot, knocks down another 3-pointer to put Boston up 22-13 with 4:27 to play in the opening quarter. Brown is shooting 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range early in this game.

18: After allowing 23 wide-open 3s in their Game 1 loss, the Warriors are closing out strong to shooters early. Golden State just ran Derrick White off an open 3 and now force a runner in the lane that he misses. Can they keep up this defensive effort and rotations throughout the game?

On the other end of the floor, Steph Curry has exploited mismatches with Al Horford defending him on the perimeter. He just drove past him, forced the defense to collapse and found Kevon Looney for the open dunk. Great execution.

17: It’s a 3-point party at Chase Center. “You get a 3! You get a 3! You get a 3!” That’s five straight possessions with a 3-pointer made in the span of 80 seconds!

  • 2:05: S. Curry 27′ 3PT Pullup (8 PTS) (J. Poole 1 AST)
  • 1:33: J. Tatum 26′ 3PT (10 PTS) (D. Theis 1 AST)
  • 1:20: G. Payton II 3PT (3 PTS) (S. Curry 3 AST)
  • 58.3: J. Tatum 28′ 3PT Pullup (13 PTS)
  • 45.1: J. Poole 25′ 3PT (3 PTS) (G. Payton II 1 AST)

16: A driving floater by Curry with one second to play in the first gives the Warriors a 31-30 lead after the first 12 minutes of action.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown lead all players with 13 points. Tatum has already surpassed his Game 1 scoring total of 12 points.

15: That’s another missed layup by the Warriors – they are up to four in the first 13 minutes of play, this one by Wiggins. Golden State is leaving a lot of points off the board against a great Celtics defense. Will these misses come back to haunt the Warriors?

Jordan Poole has another drive blocked – this one by Al Horford. Poole is getting past the initial defense but the Celtics are recovering well to prevent his shots at the rim.

14: This defensive possession by Green guarding Brown is just outstanding. Such a versatile defender.

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Draymond locking ‘em down 🙅‍♂️ #NBAFinals presented by YouTube TV

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The Celtics respond with back-to-back buckets by Derrick White – including a wide open 3 in the corner in front of Warriors bench to put Boston up 40-35 with 6:57 to play and forces a Golden State timeout

13: In Game 1, when Boston was going on that game-clinching fourth-quarter run, the Warriors used two timeouts to try to stop the momentum and get a good possession. Each time they turned it over. Not this time. The Warriors come out of this timeout with a 10-0 run that included a long 2 by Curry, a transition 3 by Curry, a transition layup by Payton and a triple by Wiggins. Timeout Celtics.

Prior to this run, the Warriors’ offense had struggled mightily in the second quarter:

12: We’ve got a great first half playing out as the Celtics respond to the Warriors run with back-to-back 3-pointers by Tatum and White to retake the lead. In addition to the main scoreboard, the Chase Center has additional screens that offer live shot charts and other stats. Definitely makes it easier to track than having to look down and search the box score. An interesting shooting night for Boston as they are shooting 10-for-17 so far on 3s (59%) but just 30% on 2s.

11: A few lineup and matchup notes that stand out so far. I really like the Warriors lineup with Green and Payton on the court together as Payton defends Brown and Green is on Tatum.

We have another Steph vs. Horford matchup on the perimeter that Curry wins again, this time setting up Wiggins for a layup as the defense collapses on Steph.

A potential big call here as Green fouls Brown on a 3-point shot before the two get tangled up on the court, with a few words exchanged as well. Referees are reviewing to see if any technical fouls should be assessed. Green already has one so he’s ejected with a second. After review, no technicals are issued and Brown shoots his free throws. Draymond has been too important for the Warriors tonight to even put himself in jeopardy of the ejection.

10: Similar to the end of the first quarter, the Warriors get the final bucket of the half on an Andrew Wiggins putback – his second attempt, showing good tenacity to complete the play – to give Golden State a 52-50 lead at the half.

The crazy shooting numbers from the Celtics continue as they are struggling from 2, but on fire from 3.

Tatum lead all scorers with 21 points (7-16 FGS, 5-7 3PM), while Brown has 15 points but has cooled off considerably. After shooting 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range in the opening seven minutes, Brown has shot just 0-for-6 from the field and missed all three of his 3s to close out the half.

Take a look at the elite Celtics company Tatum has joined after reaching 500 points this postseason:

Curry leads Warriors with 15 points (5-12 FGs, 2-6 3PM) while Wiggins is next with 10 points (4-10 FGs, 2-3 3PM). Klay continues to struggle in Game 2 as he has just two points on 1-for-8 shooting from the field and has missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

9: Do we have another dominant third quarter from the Warriors on deck? Golden State outscored Boston 38-24 in the third quarter of Game 1; it has been its signature quarter throughout this dynastic run.

We have two more missed layups by the Warriors – Wiggins on a putback and Klay on a drive – so far Boston has not made them pay for these mistakes. Some tough shooting from both teams in the first few minutes of the third quarter, but we did get an emphatic block by Robert Williams III.

8: A great trap by Looney and Green pinning Jaylen Brown against the sideline and forcing a turnover. Klay finally gets a 3-pointer to fall on the other end – can this get him going after a horrific start? Warriors up 59-52 and Boston calls timeout.

After a pair of Tatum free throws cuts the Warriors lead to five, Curry comes down and hits a step-back triple to put it back to eight points. That’s followed by a strong sequence by Klay on both ends: First, he defends Horford in the post and holds up well, then Green comes late to help force a miss and the Warriors get out in transition. Klay gets the ball on the run at the wing and glides in for the layup to make it a 10-point game.

Here we go again: the Warriors are dominating the third quarter. They just seem a step faster than the Celtics right now. Golden State has the swarming defense, forcing turnovers and misses and Boston is not able to get stops on the other end.

This stat from John Schuhmann pretty much sums things up so far for Boston:

7: The Celtics get back-to-back 3s by Grant Williams and Tatum to cut the lead to six, but the Warriors once again have an answer. Otto Porter begins a 11-0 run with a corner 3, a run that also includes a pair of 3s from Steph (each one igniting the Chase Center crowd) and free throws from Green. The 11-0 run pushes the lead to 17 at 79-62. I’d feel pretty confident about Golden State the rest of the way had I not witnessed Game 1. Will the Celtics have another answer?

6: Turnovers are absolutely killing Boston tonight; they currently have 15, which the Warriors have converted into 26 points. Make that 16 as a solid Warriors defensive possession forces a shot clock violation.

5: Poole subs in with 1:19 to play and gets in on the 3-point action, sinking his second triple of the night to make it a 20-point game. Then he follows that up with the shot of the night: As the final seconds of the third quarter tick down, Poole pulls up from a step inside halfcourt and launches a high-arcing 3 that splashes as the buzzer sounds. This is the loudest I’ve heard the Chase Center in the series.

4: At the end of three, the Warriors lead 87-64 as Golden State outscored Boston 35-14  in the third quarter alone. Through two games in the series, they are plus-35 in the third quarter.

Curry leads all scorers with 29 points on 9-for-21 shooting from the field with five 3-pointers. Tatum leads the Celtics with 28 points, but has a plus/minus of -30 through the first 36 minutes of play.

3: The Warriors open the fourth quarter with a defensive stop, an offensive rebound and layup, another stop and another 3-pointer by Poole. Then they get another turnover from Boston and a layup by Nemanja Bjelica to push the lead to 93-64 and essentially put this one on ice early.

How is this the same game as the first half?!

2: Both teams are going deep into the rotation now as it does not appear we’re getting another 40-16 fourth quarter from Boston tonight.

Green exits with nine points on 2-3 FGs, 5-7 FTs, seven assists, five rebounds, one steal, one block, three fouls and one tech. And he set the tone from the opening possession, when he wrapped up Al Horford for a jump ball just 13 seconds into the game.

I was also really impressed Gary Payton II’s first game in a month; he finished with seven points while making all three of his shot attempts, adding three rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes.

1: That’s a wrap as the final score is Golden State 107, Boston 88. The series even at 1-1 as the Finals shifts to Boston for the next two games. Game 3 is Wednesday (9 ET, ABC).

Here’s the scene outside Chase Center as the Warriors gave the home fans plenty to cheer about tonight.

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