Warriors

Steph Curry scored 29 points as the Warriors exploded in the second half to beat the Celtics 107-88 and even the series at one game.

Poole then nailed a corner 3-pointer and swished a half-court heave at the buzzer. Poole immediately hit Looney with a perfect bounce pass after driving to the hole, and the center converted for two points. Thompson came out strong to open the third quarter, but it looked like Poole would sit the entire quarter and perhaps his night was over. He ran his usual marathon around the court, and with Jordan Poole struggling, Steve Kerr needed as many minutes as possible from Curry. The three-time champion totaled 32 minutes in three quarters. Whenever the Warriors needed a big shot from deep, whether it was to ignite the crowd or slow down the Celtics, he was there. Two nights after scoring 38 points in the third quarter of Game 1, the Warriors this time scored 35.

The Warriors broke open what was a two-point game at the half with a third quarter blitz and evened the 2022 NBA Finals on Sunday night with a 107-88 win at ...

Tatum - 6 Tatum - 3 Wiggins - 6 Curry - 6 Looney - 12 Curry - 4

The second game of the NBA Finals series between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics brought out another round of celebrities attending Chase ...

ABC's cameras also caught Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Michigan State men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo — there to watch Michigan State product Draymond Green among others — and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel also made his latest appearance at a Warriors game, posting on his Instagram story that he was seated courtside. Green oddly enough wore a gray and green sweatsuit during his “Star-Spangled Banner” performance. Another notable name who in attendance for Game 2 was Ringer CEO and podcaster Bill Simmons, whose most prominent appearance at the arena came up after officials stopped a fast break to review whether Warriors guard Jordan Poole committed a technical foul on Celtics guard Derrick White — it was deemed he didn't so the stop was ostensibly made for no reason.

Golden State Warriors: Start calling Steph Curry 'Two-Way Steph.' And if his defensive play continues to shine against the Celtics, you might be able to ...

He has three titles, two MVPs, and will have a bust in the Hall of Fame and at least one statue outside of Chase Center — the building his great play built. But there was Curry — he had read the play to perfection and stole the pass. Because they are built to impact the game on both sides of the floor. Celtics backup point guard Payton Pritchard had the ball and Curry as his only defender in the corner with the reset shot clock winding down from 14 seconds. Only Curry didn’t bounce out of the way. He could sense the game slipping away. No, the bulk of credit needs to go to Draymond Green, who came out from the opening tip with a score to settle with himself after a terrible Game 1. If not for his lackluster defensive reputation — one he can’t seem to shake — this wouldn’t be anything to mention. The Dubs locked down on defense and turned those stops into transition offense opportunities. They’d be lucky to sniff the Finals at all. A championship is on the line, after all — who cares about style points? The competition is ruthless.

Thompson missed two full seasons thanks to a pair of serious lower-body injuries and he worked relentlessly to get back out on the floor. There were some that ...

It's especially important for Thompson to make shots in order to maximize his value to the Warriors at this point in time, as he has yet to return to form as the dominant defender he once was. Playing alongside the game's best shooter in Curry, opportunities are always going to be there for Thompson, and it's up to him to capitalize. In addition to Thompson simply settling in and finding a rhythm, it's also obviously on coach Kerr to continue to put him in position to succeed. Thompson missed two full seasons thanks to a pair of serious lower-body injuries and he worked relentlessly to get back out on the floor. He also seems to be allowing frustration to creep in, as he could be seen slapping his hands together and shaking his head as the misses started to pile up on Sunday night. To say that Thompson has been cold over the first two games of the Finals would be an understatement.

From switching Draymond Green's assignment to giving big minutes to Gary Payton II, Steve Kerr's adjustments had one theme: physicality.

“It’s 1-1 and we know it’s going to get a lot harder,” Kerr said. But everybody has to bring the right intensity, and Draymond did that from the jump.” “So all the change in the way the game felt from an intensity standpoint, Gary had a huge role in that. It’s a total team effort, guys being ready to help when help is needed and guys taking on the challenge at the point of attack. “Anywhere we can find rest for him in this series is going to be important,” Kerr said. So I think it worked out better with him on Jaylen and sliding Klay over to Horford. It worked tonight, but you never know how this goes in Game 3.” Overall, Boston committed 18 turnovers and couldn’t get its supporting players into the flow the way Horford, Marcus Smart and Derrick White lit up the Warriors in Game 1. “They did a good job of staying with me, for example,” Horford said of the problems the Warriors caused. “I think it was important for us to stay in man-to-man in order to impose physicality on the game. The leader in any Warriors defensive attack, of course, is always going to be Draymond Green, who was surprisingly muted during the Warriors’ Game 1 loss and especially when Boston erupted for nine 3-pointers in an amazing fourth-quarter barrage. That put Klay Thompson, less prone to wander from his man, on Horford, which perplexed the Celtics enough that Horford didn’t even attempt a 3-pointer Sunday and scored only two points. The correct answer was the simplest one for the Warriors. The way to beat the Celtics was to follow the straightest, sharpest, steeliest line.

Jordan Poole and Draymond Green avoided technical fouls in the first half against the Celtics.

They had to be separated and the officials again used replay to review what happened. In the moment, Poole was given a technical foul, but upon review, the referees rescinded the penalty. Towards the end of the first half, Green committed a personal foul on Celtics star Jaylen Brown and the two players got tangled up.

A fiery star tests some limits in carrying Golden State over Boston in Game 2.

In the second quarter, he fouled the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown on a 3-point attempt before they fell to the court in a tangled heap and appeared to shove each other. And we ultimately knew if we go out and play our game, we put ourselves right back in position to take control of the series.” (The last straw was striking LeBron James in the groin.) Golden State lost that game — Green had to watch it on television from a luxury suite at the baseball stadium next door — and then the next two as the Cleveland Cavaliers stormed back to win their first and only championship. “I think we’re in a great mental space,” Green said. But you feel him in his presence, and the other team feels his presence and his intensity, and that’s contagious for all of us.” “I don’t know what I was supposed to do there,” Brown said. As for that fine line — the one that most players know they should not cross, especially in the postseason — Green used to have more trouble negotiating it, believe it or not. The pros far outweigh the cons, unless you are an opposing player, in which he case he can be one of the most irritating people on the planet. By the end of the night, his body of work — however polarizing his behavior — helped clear the path for Golden State’s 107-88 victory, which tied the finals at a game apiece before Game 3 on Wednesday in Boston. A tenacious defender and immensely skilled passer, he has already helped the team win three titles — and now, amid their renaissance, aspires for more. “I think we talk about how some of that stuff doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet in terms of points, rebounds, assists. How Green treats the line depends on the circumstances, but also on his mood.

Golden State has been more reliant on its superstar in the NBA Finals more than it has ever been.

Even in their 2019 Finals loss to Toronto, the Warriors got a strong offensive push from Curry (30.5) and Thompson (26), with Durant missing much of the series. Seven years ago, the rallying cry was Strength in Numbers-with guys like Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala providing enough collective pop to support Curry and Thompson. And of course, it was Iguodala who won MVP—averaging 16.3 points to go with his defense on LeBron James—of that first championship in 2015. They were the Splash Brothers, dazzling everyone with their lethal shooting, burying teams under a hailstorm of threes. At the moment, Curry looks like a solo splasher, an only child. … I guess you compare it to years past, with the depth that we had, with the heavy load of scoring me, KD, Klay had, obviously looks a little different, and the game flows a little different.” “I think it’s different,” Curry said, “just because of the way the team is constructed. He put up 34 points in Game 1, which might have been enough had the Warriors’ defense not collapsed in the fourth quarter. Curry was electric Sunday, scoring 29 points in just 32 minutes of work, earning a rest for the entire fourth quarter. Can Poole recapture the magic of April and early May? Can Thompson— who spent two years recovering from major surgeries before returning in January—regain his pop in this series? “Boston is a hell of a team. A beaming Stephen Curry promptly met him for a high five and a fierce hug. In prior runs, the Warriors were powered by Curry and Thompson’s shooting, then by Curry and Kevin Durant (with a nice dash of Thompson on top). But now?

If there's one thing we've learned over the first two games of the NBA Finals, it's that both teams are capable of going on runs to completely bury their ...

“Alas, a calculator cannot account for one other element of the equation: The possibility of a players’ strike looms, as threatening to the season as a pin pressed to a balloon. Though the strike did halt the season on Aug. 11, O’Neill played his way out of the race for .400 long before that. - Colorado: Jay Howell. He pitched for 15 years as a relief pitcher in the majors (1980 to ’94) with seven teams. With so many challenges to the game’s hallmarks, wouldn’t it be wonderful if just one of them was successful? Orioles closer Lee Smith was on pace to break the record for saves. The Blue Jays’ Joe Carter was racking up RBIs at a rate that would challenge Hack Wilson’s single-season record of 190. - Wisconsin: Harvey Kuenn. He played 15 seasons with the Tigers, Giants, Cubs, Phillies and Cleveland (1952 to ’66), earning eight All-Star selections and the ’53 Rookie of the Year. Kuenn played shortstop early in his career and outfield later. Golden State outscored Boston 35–14 in the third quarter of Game 2 en route to a 107–88 win that evened the series at a game apiece. Rohan Nadkarni notes that there was a huge disparity in the number of catch-and-shoot threes Boston got last night, compared to in Game 1. A Sports Illustrated article from October of that year laid out the challenges facing the school’s “once proud athletic program.” Syracuse finished third in the 1961 College World Series, but the program was discontinued after the ’72 season. Starting the second half on the right foot will be an emphasis for the Celtics in Game 3 at home, Mannix writes:

Thompson is shooting just 26 percent from long range in a series that's now tied 1-1.

It's especially important for Thompson to make shots in order to maximize his value to the Warriors at this point in time, as he has yet to return to form as the dominant defender he once was. Playing alongside the game's best shooter in Curry, opportunities are always going to be there for Thompson, and it's up to him to capitalize. In addition to Thompson simply settling in and finding a rhythm, it's also obviously on coach Kerr to continue to put him in position to succeed. Thompson missed two full seasons thanks to a pair of serious lower-body injuries and he worked relentlessly to get back out on the floor. He also seems to be allowing frustration to creep in, as he could be seen slapping his hands together and shaking his head as the misses started to pile up on Sunday night. To say that Thompson has been cold over the first two games of the Finals would be an understatement.

AN FRANCISCO -- When Jordan Poole closed the third quarter of NBA Finals Game 2 Sunday with back-to-back 3-pointers, the latter a 39-foot guided missile at ...

He torched the Nuggets in the first three games of the first round but tailed off dramatically in the final two games. The five 3-balls were significant insofar as that kind of shooting can force the Celtics to make a defensive adjustment, which could give Klay Thompson, struggling mightily through the first two games, more space with which to work. He lit up the Grizzlies in the first three games of the Western Conference semifinals but was lost over the final three. Poole had some sloppy moments in the fourth quarter, as the Warriors were coasting to victory, but generally showed promise that maybe he had found his bearings. “He had a tough time there in that second quarter, and he checked out,” Draymond Green said. It was a continuation of his Game 1 totals of nine points on 2-of-7 shooting, 1-of-5 from deep, with two rebounds, two assists -- and four turnovers.

Whether it's the extended rest or the speech from head coach Steve Kerr, there are few things scarier than these Warriors coming out of the halftime break.

The Celtics were able to overcome the Warriors' third-quarter dominance with an equally dominant fourth quarter in Game 1, but Game 2 was an entirely different story. 1st After entering halftime with a two-point lead, Golden State outscored Boston 35-14 in the third to take a 23-point lead into the final frame. With 4:32 remaining in Game 2's third quarter, Jayson Tatum sank a 3-pointer to cut Boston's deficit to six points. Specific to Game 2, however, it took fewer than five minutes for the Warriors to completely change the game's direction. Oftentimes, Golden State needs just 12 minutes to alter the entire outlook of a game.

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.

The Golden State Warriors have consistently maintained there's no secret sauce to their third quarter excellence. “I honestly have no idea,” Stephen Curry ...

The Warriors shifting to more Curry ball screens also helped. Golden State made a conscious choice to let Tatum face more single-coverage, after he shot 3-of-17 in Game 1, but had 13 assists as his teammates carried Boston to a win. Golden State finished second in the NBA in third quarter net rating this season by outscoring their opponents by +10.5 points per 100 possessions in the period. Kerr says there wasn’t a lot of strategic changes made at halftime. The Warriors appeared to make it a point get Klay Thompson going in the third after he went 1-for-8 in the first half. In Game 2, Golden State held the Celtics to 4-of-17 shooting in the third with four turnovers. The Warriors have been ridiculously good in the third quarter for years now, so all of this should be familiar. The Warriors’ third quarter explosion in Game 2 looked a lot like the third quarter explosions they’ve enjoyed since their first championship run back in 2015. Curry is so often seen flying around around off-ball screens until a teammate hits him for an open shot in the Warriors’ offense, but in the third Kerr put the ball in the hands of his best player and let him cook. Golden State once again did their damage in the third quarter, this time turning that two-point halftime lead into a 23-point advantage by the time the final period started. The Warriors now risked going down 0-2 on their home floor to begin the NBA Finals against the Celtics if they couldn’t deliver in the second half. The Golden State Warriors have consistently maintained there’s no secret sauce to their third quarter excellence.

Golden State has an announcement: Its defense is pretty awesome, too!

This is the mindset that Green wants to carry forward with the series shifting to Boston. The matchup advantages that the Celtics exploited a few days ago have not disappeared, and they have bounced back from much worse in these playoffs. Payton, who played 25 minutes in his first game back from the fractured elbow he suffered in the first week of May in the second game of the second round, said that Golden State was "kind of soft in the first game." They're both completely correct, but it's hard to do all of that with Wiggins and Payton applying pressure on the perimeter, Green roaming everywhere and everybody else moving on a string. "All they need to see is one shot go in, and it can start a domino effect." When Golden State's defense is at its best, it appears to be a step ahead of the offense at all times. What Boston did in the second half, you know, fourth quarter the other night, we knew we had to come with a much better focus and sense of aggression, and I thought that started right from the beginning. "Game 1 was too easy for Boston with the looks they were getting in that fourth quarter." Tatum and Brown accounted for 36 of the Celtics' 50 points before halftime, and Derrick White was their only teammate who had made more than one field goal. Multiple Warriors, however, stressed that this was possible because of the way the game started. Their offense looked nowhere near as smooth as it did when they were dominating down the stretch of Thursday's opener. When the Celtics pulled their starters with 10:45 left in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, they had scored 82.1 points per 100 possessions. It was a clean look off of a simple pick-and-roll, surrendered because the Golden State Warriors messed up their defensive coverage.

Gary Payton II's return from his fractured left elbow couldn't have gone better in the Warriors' Game 2 win over the Celtics.

Both here in the Bay Area with the Warriors, and in the Finals looking to get fitted for a championship ring, something even the original Payton never was able to pull off. "We missed him in the last series and in the first game, so having him back out there was great because he just is a disruptor. Payton played only one preseason game with the Warriors this season, their fourth game of their exhibition slate, scoring 12 points along with one rebound, one steal and one block in 11 minutes. He scored 12 in Game 2 and was a minus-17 over 30 minutes. "He kind of brings a different type of energy. "The level of defense, physicality and speed in transition -- it gives us a huge boost." There's no silver lining to the injury and pain he had to endure. As the first quarter came to a close, Steph Curry found a wide-open Payton in the left corner near the Celtics' bench. He scored seven points to go with three rebounds and three assists, and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. "He was over there in the corner with [Detlef Schrempf]," Payton said Sunday night. Instead, he turned his body, Brown was called for a foul and Payton fell right on his injured left elbow. Payton played 25 minutes in the win, the most of any Warriors player off the bench.

After splitting the first two games of the series at home, the Warriors make way to Boston on Wednesday for Game 3 of the 2022 NBA Finals.

Jaylen Brown has carried the Celtics in stretches over the first two games, leading Boston’s Game 1 comeback at the start of the fourth quarter and starting off hot with nine of his 17 points in Game 2 in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the first quarter, and Derrick White has also hurt the Dubs with his outside shooting (seven threes over two games). If Game 3 plays out anything like the first two games, keep your eye on the 3-point line. James Wiseman (right knee injury management) is out. In fact, Boston has lost twice in a row just once since Jan. 23. Curry played the passing lanes throughout Game 2 and netted three steals, in addition to holding his own as an on-the-ball defender as noted by Draymond Green. The two-time MVP and three-time champ has averaged 31.5 points though the first two games of the Finals, shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 45.9 percent from 3-point range with 12 total splashes. AST: Tatum (6.1) The Dubs have outscored the Celtics 73-38 in the third period of those two games combined. GSW: GSW: Andre Iguodala is day-to-day. After splitting the first two games of the series at home, the Warriors make way to Boston on Wednesday for Game 3 of the 2022 NBA Finals. Wednesday’s showdown will be the Dubs’ first road game of the championship series, last visiting the TD Garden on Dec. 17 during the regular season. With the win, the Dubs tied the best-of-seven Championship series at 1-1. Dub Nation – due to popular demand, we’re moving our watch parties to inside Chase Center! Come out to Chase Center and cheer on the Dubs with your fellow fans while we broadcast the game in-arena!

Draymond Green was a beast on defense in Game 2, but he wasn't the only Warriors player who made a big impact against the Celtics.

They obviously didn’t take care of the ball and they sometimes let the Warriors off the hook by taking contested jumpers instead of seeking out better shots. Midway through the third quarter, the Celtics were struggling offensively when they got a transition opportunity. In these playoffs, the only time a team has scored less than 65.4 per 100 in a half was the Suns ( 58.7 per 100) in the first half of Game 7 vs. That will probably remain the most memorable defensive possession of Porter’s career. And that had him on the floor with Poole, a potentially dangerous situation for the Warriors’ defense. Games 4 and 5 of the conference finals, along with Game 1 of this series, were the worst three-game stretch of defense ( 123.8 points allowed per 100 possessions) that the Warriors have had with Green in uniform this season. As illustrated clearly in the Tatum vs. Playing for the Washington Wizards seven years ago, Porter totally spaced out as Tony Snell relocated to the other side of the floor. That wasn’t the last of Bjelica’s defensive stops. A big part of the Celtics’ offense is getting Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown in an action against one of the opponents’ defensive liabilities. And Bjelica certainly wasn’t a bystander in that regard. But defensive numbers like that don’t come without contributions from everybody in the rotation.

Klay Thompson's shooting woes have put the Golden State Warriors in an uncomfortable...

As Curry showed Sunday, he is capable of handling all that well enough for the Warriors to win convincingly. What makes the Warriors optimistic is that Thompson has done much harder things. … I guess you compare it to years past, with the depth that we had, with the heavy load of scoring me, KD, Klay had, obviously looks a little different, and the game flows a little different.” To get Thompson going offensively, Kerr might want to call more plays for him. But the Celtics have presented numerous challenges for Golden State, and Poole and Wiggins are hardly immune. The Warriors’ offense has been significantly more efficient with Poole on the floor instead of Thompson. This is far from preferable, which raises an important question: What can the Warriors do to get Thompson back to his efficient ways? Even when he shot better in the previous three series, he often failed to help Golden State win. Without proper support from Thompson, he might struggle to lift the Warriors past the Celtics. In each of the Finals’ first two games, Curry had 12 pick-and-rolls. Anyone who watched the first two games of these NBA Finals could see a five-time All-Star trying to power through his sudden physical limitations. Jordan Poole has looked overwhelmed with Boston’s physicality, and Andrew Wiggins has too much defensive responsibility to be a reliable No. 2 scoring option.

With the series now tied at 1-1, it is the 40th time that teams split the first two games of the NBA Finals. And in the last 39 instances, the team that wins ...

If the momentum sticks with the Warriors through Wednesday and they can pull out a Game 3 win, history will be on their side for the rest of the series. Of course, the Warriors are known to break the mold, set new records and not limit themselves to what history has written. With the series now tied at 1-1, it is the 40th time that teams split the first two games of the NBA Finals. And in the last 39 instances, the team that wins Game 3 has won the championship 82.1 percent of the time (32-7).

The All-Star forward stepped up his intensity during Golden State's Game 2 win and could be a big factor in pushing the team toward another title.

Tatum increased his scoring marks to 28 at the expense of his assists (three). Neither Horford (two) nor Smart (two) produced much offensively. Do not be surprised if the rest of Green’s teammates follow suit. The Warriors remain mindful that how well they sustain this effort could dictate their championship fortunes. Eleven seconds into Game 2, Green tied up Celtics forward Al Horford to force a jump ball before the Warriors created a turnover. It’s about guys being ready to help when help is needed and guys taking on the challenge at the point of attack.” Curry willingly defended Smart. Warriors forward Kevon Looney and Otto Porter Jr. leaned on their hustle and positional versatility to go against Celtics center Robert Williams III. Curry shared that he knew Green would revamp the team’s defense “about five minutes after Game 1.” Both after the game and after Saturday’s practice, Green self-critiqued both his 2-for-12 clip from the field and his defensive execution. “That is contagious for all of us.” It wasn’t just me on Jaylen Brown. It was across the board,” Green said. It took less than five minutes in Game 2 to show Green meant business. No doubt, Green has remained the Warriors’ engine that fuels their defensive intensity through three NBA championship runs. The physical?

After missing the previous two rounds with a fractured left elbow that was suffered in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals, Gary Payton II appeared ...

Just use him. "Use him. After I got on the floor I kinda calmed down."

The Warriors tried a lot of different things in their 107-88 Game 2, series-evening victory over the Celtics on Sunday. They pressed up harder on shooters, ...

"I know it was hard on him, missing the first couple free throws, and to step in there after that and knock down that three, having very little reps of shooting the basketball since that Memphis series, just shows who he is," Green said of Payton. "That's the reason he's here, though. And moving forward, there are going to be plenty more available for Payton to leave his mark on this series. It didn't look great when Payton back-rimmed two free throws, but then he buried a corner 3, which is such a vital shot within Golden State's offense not just to maintain reasonable spacing, but to make Boston pay when it inevitably collapses on Curry, as it did here: Prior to his injury, the Warriors were generating 3.3 more turnovers per 100 possessions with Payton on the floor. Payton hasn't played since fracturing his elbow in Game 2 of the conference semifinals against Memphis, and Steve Kerr didn't think he was ready to go in Game 1. They immediately went on a 10-0 run, which included the sequence above as well as the one below, where Payton runs the floor and settles into a gap along the baseline. Payton gives Kerr a Poole alternative, and indeed, Payton jumped Poole in the rotation in the second half on Sunday. Poole was held out almost the entire third quarter, when Golden State, perhaps not coincidentally, turned a two-point lead into a 23-point lead and my guess is Payton would've been in the closing lineup over Poole had the game been close down the stretch. Payton and Green can be a menacing duo. Payton in the closing lineup over Poole leaves the Celtics with only one defender to hunt in Curry, and we're going to need to stop with this dialogue that Curry is some kind of weak link. Again, this changes the equation for the rest of this series. He was a plus-15 in 25 significant minutes. They had Klay Thompson match up with bigs, freeing Draymond Green to get more in the line of fire defending Boston's stars.