After suffering their first home loss of the postseason, the Warriors will look to even the series on Sunday when the Dubs take on the Celtics in Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals.
Game 2Warriors vs. CelticsSunday, June 55 p.m.Chase Center
WATCH: ABC
LISTEN: 95.7 The Game, ESPN Radio, Warriors Mobile App and Warriors Radio Network
DUBS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK
Coming off of a series-opening defeat, the Warriors will look to even the series on Sunday when the NBA Finals continue at Chase Center. The Warriors face a 1-0 series deficit, but have yet to lose consecutive games this postseason. Stephen Curry is coming off a game in which he made seven a 2022 postseason-high seven 3-pointers, while Boston is coming off an even more impressive splash party (21 made threes) that led to their eighth road win of the playoffs.
Tickets are still available for the Game 2 showdown, and all fans should note the 5 p.m. tipoff time. Plus, all fans in attendance will receive a Warriors Gold Blooded t-shirt, courtesy of Rakuten.
LAST TIME OUT
The Warriors led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, but Boston made their first seven 3-point attempts in the final quarter to hand the Dubs a 120-108 defeat in Thursday’s Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals. Stephen Curry scored 21 of his 34 points in the first quarter, setting an NBA Finals record by making six 3-pointers in the period, but Boston finished strong, using a late 17-0 run to put an exclamation point on a fourth quarter in which they outscored the Dubs 40-16. » Full Game Recap
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE
PREVIOUS GAME STARTERS
GSW: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney
BOS: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown,Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Robert Williams III
INJURY & ROSTER NOTES
GSW: GSW: James Wiseman (right knee injury management) is out. Team Notes
BOS: None. Team Notes
STAYING CALM
Sunday will be the Dubs’ first time this playoffs coming into a game trailing a series. The loss in Game 1 was also the Warriors’ first home loss to start a series since the 2016 Western Conference Finals. But the battle-tested Warriors roster, who had 123 games of Finals experience entering the series, are ready for the test.
“Well, you know, it’s first to four, not first to one,” Klay Thompson said postgame. “And we all have been through situations like this.
“There’s no reason to panic. I like our chances still, and we’ll go home and we’ll digest what happened. I know we’ll be better Game 2.”
Draymond Green, who recorded four points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals before fouling out in Game 1 is embracing the opportunity.
“You get a chance to do something else, do it in a different way, embrace the challenge,” Green said. “We’ve always embraced challenges. It’s no different. We’ll embrace this one.”
After a 40-point Celtics fourth quarter on Thursday, turning a 12-point deficit into a 12-point win for Boston, Stephen Curry is ready to get back on the court for Game 2 to try to even the series up before heading on the road.
“We know they are a good team,” Curry said after Game 1. “So are we. We have to respond on Sunday.”
WARRIORS REINFORCEMENTS
One of the big developments going into Game 1 was that Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. and Andre Iguodala were available to play, as announced by Head Coach Steve Kerr prior to the game. Payton didn’t see any game action, but Porter and Iguodala were two of the three reserves who played meaningful minutes in Game 1. Porter made an immediate impact after not playing since Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, when he suffered an injury to his left foot. Porter made three 3-pointers in the second quarter of Game 1, finishing with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting. Iguodala had a longer layoff, missing the last 12 games with a left cervical disc injury before checking in to Game 1 late in the first quarter. Iguodala made three of his four shot attempts, finishing with seven points in 12 minutes of game action. Porter and Iguodala didn't show any signs of rust, and their offensive production would certainly compliment their abilities as versatile defenders with size, which is particularly needed in this series against a Boston team with multiple inside-out offensive threats. Likewise, Payton has proved to be an elite on-ball defender, and the Warriors would certainly welcome his length and defensive tenacity should he be ready to return.
TEAM PLAYOFF LEADERS
BOSTON SCOUTING REPORT Despite Jayson Tatum shooting 3-for-17 from the floor, the Celtics ran away with the Game 1 victory behind a dominant fourth quarter. Jaylen Brown ignited Boston’s fourth quarter rally, scoring or assisting on the team’s first 14 points of the quarter. And this wasn’t the first time that the Cal product has showed up in the fourth quarter, as he leads the team in fourth quarter scoring this postseason (6.8 points per fourth quarter), and is shooting 62.5 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from 3-point range in the period during these playoffs. Brown started the fourth quarter fire in Game 1 and his teammates quickly spread it. When all was said and done, Boston made nine of their 21 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t their most proficient 3-point outing of the season – they made 22 in their Game 7 win over the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals – but it did highlight a telling stat: The Celtics are 7-1 this postseason when making at least 14 3-pointers. There were surely be adjustments on both sides as the series goes on, and one has to think that the Warriors will look to reduce the number of Boston’s open looks from the perimeter.