The Warriors led from start to finish and earned a 136-100 victory over the Spurs in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night. Stephen Curry was terrific, leading all scorers with 29 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. Draymond Green filled the stat sheet with 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Patrick McCaw, Ian Clark and Shaun Livingston all scored in double-figures off the bench. With the win, Golden State takes a 2-0 lead in the series.
GAME LEADERS
In Game 1, it was San Antonio that jumped out to a huge early lead before the Warriors completed an historic second half comeback to prevail in the end. On Tuesday in Game 2, it was Golden State’s turn to race out to a big cushion, but this time, the team in front would remain there for the duration of the contest.
The Warriors wasted no time putting themselves in the drivers seat, as Draymond Green followed Kevin Durant’s ice-breaking jumper with a three-pointer to give the Dubs a 5-0 lead two minutes into the game, and they never looked back from there. All five Golden State starters scored within the opening six minutes, whereas Jonathan Simmons - who started in place of the injured Kawhi Leonard – was single-handedly responsible for eight of the Spurs’ first 10 points. The Warriors accumulated assists on their first 10 field goals, the last of which put them up 25-12 with 3:05 remaining in the first frame. Golden State would then end the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 33-16 lead at the end of one. The Warriors made 6-of-9 three-point attempts in the first quarter, and 28 of their points came by way of an assist.
Danny Green opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, but the Warriors’ advantage would only grow from that point on. Shaun Livingston’s jumper on the ensuing possession ignited an 11-0 Warriors’ run in response to take a 44-19 lead with 8:48 left in the half, equaling the Spurs’ largest lead in Game 1. Simmons completed a three-point play 31 seconds later, beginning a stretch in which the two sides would alternate scores until Durant followed a David West layup with a jumper at the 3:04 mark to increase Golden State’s lead to 64-35. San Antonio would manage to trim just a single point off that deficit through the remainder of the quarter and would go into halftime trailing by a score of 72-44. The Warriors' 72 first half points were tied for their second-most in a postseason game in franchise history, and their 23 assists through two quarters established a new franchise record for assists in a playoff half.
The Spurs held the Warriors scoreless for the opening three minutes of the second half, and would cut the deficit to 81-61 on Dewayne Dedmon’s dunk with 6:45 left in the third quarter. That’s as close as they’d get for the remainder of the game, however, as Curry and Klay Thompson combined for six points in the ensuing 36 seconds to regain the momentum.
After five-straight Spurs points, Patrick McCaw and Curry converted back-to-back three-pointers, and McCaw’s jumper at the 2:35 mark put Golden State over the century mark and in front 101-70. That would be the same margin at the end of the third quarter, which came to a close with the Warriors leading 106-75. Curry was subbed out with 19 seconds remaining in the frame, and with the game well in hand, he’d remain on the bench for the rest of the night.
After Livingston and Joel Anthony traded dunks to open the fourth quarter scoring, Golden State went on an 8-0 burst to increase their advantage to 116-77 on a Livingston jumper with 9:30 left to play. Mike Brown pulled the last of the Warriors’ starters within the next minute, and the Dubs’ bench would expand their lead from there. McCaw and James Michael McAdoo would combine for nine-straight points to go up 127-86 with 5:11 remaining, equaling the Warriors’ largest lead of the entire game. That same duo would combine for seven of Golden State’s final nine points in the contest, as the Warriors coasted the rest of the way to a 136-100 victory.
The win was Golden State’s fifth wire-to-wire victory this postseason, which equals the combined total of the rest of the NBA. The Warriors now lead the series 2-0, which will transition to San Antonio for the next two games beginning with Game 3 on Saturday night.