A familiar scene was the catalyst for the Golden State Warriors tying the NBA Finals at one game a piece Sunday night in Toronto.
During their championship run over the last five seasons, big scoring flurries have become the norm - a barrage of three pointers, active defense - momentarily stifling their opponent and, in effect, ending games.
Game 2 saw that familiar pattern.
To begin the second half - down 59-54 - the Warriors used an 18-0 run to take a 13 point advantage. It was familiar Warriors' basketball - defensive deflections, blocked shots, and back breaking three pointers. It started with transition offense, as Andre Iguodala got a clean look off of a pass from Klay Thompson. Then a deflection from Draymond Green led to a Thompson pass to Steph Curry, who drove by Kyle Lowry on the left side for an easy bank layup. Iguodala then got another open look off of a rebound and push by Demarcus Cousins off of a miss from Kawhi Leonard. That made it a 7-0 run, putting the Warriors up two and led to a Raptor timeout.
The Warriors moved beautifully without the ball - as is their custom - as the Raptors did not communicate well on screens, leading to open opportunities at the rim. It is one of the things that you just cannot do against the Warriors if you expect to beat them.
The Raptors missed open looks when they had them, and did not rebound. A Klay Thompson three off of a Fred VanVleet miss led to Nick Nurse calling a time out, with the Warriors leading by 9 - having scored 14 unanswered in just 4 minutes and 25 seconds. To cap the run, Green got a layup on a pass in transition - again, off a defensive rebound - from Iguodala, which put the defending champions up 72-59. Fred VanVleet ended the run with a three pointer from the corner.
The Warriors would outscore the home team 34-21 in the third quarter, and for the most part never looked back. Though the Raptors would cut it to 4, at 92-88, with 9:02 remaining, they could never achieve the offensive rhythm they had in Game 1. Over the final 5:27, their defense was solid, but they could only manage 10 points in that span, while holding Golden State to 3. They failed to capitalize on Warrior misses, wasting countless chances they had to chip away at the lead. The Raptors went 0 for 3 in a span where the Warriors did not score for three and a half minutes.
Noticeably absent from leaving an imprint on the game was Pascal Siakam, who struggled after a tremendous Game 1 performance that saw him score 32 points and missing just three shots. Last night, the 25 year old was just 5 for 18 for just 12 points.
Kawhi Leonard, who had a tough shooting night going 8 of 20, kept the Raptors in it by getting to the line - shooting 16 for 16 from the stripe. He ended with 34 points and 14 rebounds. His aggressiveness in getting to the line offset a rough shooting night for the Raptors, who shot just 37% from the field and 29% from three.
With all that, though, they still had their chance at the end. Down 106-104 with 15.0 seconds left - Danny Green knocked down a three off of an offensive rebound by Siakam with 26.9 remaining - Siakam and VanVleet brought a double team to Curry just over the mid court line. Curry dribbled out of it, and whipped a pass to Livingston at the top of the three point circle. Leonard, who was guarding Livingston, outstretched with both hands and nearly came up with the steal, with Livingston getting to the ball first. With the Raptors in a scramble, Livingston found Iguodala for a three on the left side. It was his second three point make of the night on four attempts after going 0 for 11 from beyond the arc in his previous five games. The shot sealed the game for the Warriors, and now they will go back to Oakland for Game 3 having split the first two in Toronto.
For the Raptors, the game was a missed opportunity to take a 2-0 lead in what was a winnable game down the stretch. For the Warriors, it was an opportunity seized.
Green played much better defense on Siakam - not allowing him a basket as Siakam was 0 for 6 when defended by Green. Green also looked more like the version of himself we saw in the Western Conference Finals, as he countered a 2 for 9 Game 1 performance with a near triple double (17 points / 10 rebounds / 9 assists) in Game 2. Demarcus Cousins was also huge. After having played just 8 minutes in Game 1, he played 28 in Game 2, scoring 11 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists.
This loss could mean trouble for the Raptors going forward - as they had a chance to win both games on their home floor before having to go on the road for games 3 and 4. Not just for the that reason, but also because Demarcus Cousins seems to be getting stronger and more in a rhythm. It is what makes the Warriors so dangerous and so tough to beat - when you think you may have them down, they are not out. And when you think you have an advantage, another head on the monster grows that makes them even more formidable.
On the Kevin Durant front, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports says that Durant could return for Game 3 or 4. If so, the monster gains its last head and the task for the Raptors only gets tougher.
Needless to say, Game 3 should be another good one in what so far has been a entertaining series.
Notes:
Marc Gasol, who had 20 points and 7 rebounds in Game 1, was just 2 for 7 from the field last night for 6 points. Kyle Lowry was just 4 for 11 after going 2 for 9 in Game 1. He has scored 7 and 13 points in the first two games of this series, after averaging 19 points per game in the conference finals. Fred VanVleet had 17 off the bench for the Raptors, while Serge Ibaka added 10 rebounds. Steph Curry is just 14 for 35 for the series, but has scored 34 and 23 points. Andrew Bogut saw his first action of the Finals, playing 7 minutes.
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