Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (top left) is restrained by Boston Celtics Marcus Smart (36) while the Celtics Jaylen Brown (7) is restrained his teammate (left bottom) and an official (right bottom) during a first half altercation at the Chase Center in San Francisco in game 2 of the NBA Finals (AP News photo)

Warriors Take Game Two To Tie Series; Golden State holds off Boston to 14 pts in 3rd quarter to win 107-88

By Barbara Mason

Sunday night the Golden State Warriors met the Boston Celtics in Game Two of the NBA finals. Golden State gave up a third quarter lead in the first game of this championship series totally collapsing. It was a real meltdown.

They could ill afford to finish another game like this. The Celtics are young and feisty and will continue to give the Warriors all sorts of problems if they have another fourth quarter like they did in game one. Golden State had to start finishing games. The Warriors didn’t have to worry about such problems coming away with a convincing 107-88 game 2 victory to tie the series at 1-1.

The first and the second quarters could not have been closer. The Warriors won both quarters by a single point. The first quarter had Golden State in the lead 31-30 and the second 21-20. At the half the Warriors led by the slimmest of margins a 52-50 lead.

The third quarter really picked up for the Warriors. They were forcing turnovers and tonight the shots from downtown were falling a huge plus.

Once again we saw the Warriors finish the third quarter with a healthy lead, even healthier than in game one. The fourth quarter of this game would be one that they desperately needed to dominate. They couldn’t let this game slip away the way they did in the first game of this series. They led after three quarters 87-64. They had outscored Boston 35-14 in the third in total domination.

Golden State did not disappoint extending their lead throughout the fourth quarter. There would be no let down for the Warriors in this game. They were hitting their shots, forcing turnovers and going to the line through the third and fourth quarters. The final was 107-88.

The Warriors now head out on the road in Game Three at TD Garden Arena. The majority of the time the home team has an advantage however the Celtics did lose games one, three and five at home against the Heat before winning game seven.

This was true championship basketball for Golden State. The Warriors had 18 points off turnovers in this blowout. Warrior guard Stephen Curry finished with 29 points and off the bench Jordan Poole had 17 points. We still await Klay Thompson to assist with the heavy lifting. It just hasn’t happened yet.

In this game Golden State held Al Horford to two points and the same for Marcus Smart with a couple. Jason Tatum finished the game with 28 points but needed his supporting cast to do a whole lot more.

“We came out with the right defensive energy. We were a little more organized,” said Curry after the game. “It was a tough task. We got it back on track and now we’ll take it on the road. We gave ourselves life in this series. I am excited about it and hopefully we can take that energy on the road”.

One of the highlights of this game was the return of Gary Payton II. He played 25 minutes and a huge roar rose from the crowd when he hit his first shot. His return will be a real plus for the team going forward.

Game Three will take place at TD Garden in Boston Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM.