SAN FRANCISCO ( Associated Press) — Stephen Curry had 29 points, Jordan Poole scored from half court on a strong third-quarter offense and the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 107-88 in Game 2 on Sunday to tie the game. series in the NBA Finals.
Poole finished with 17 points for the Warriors, who outscored Boston 35-14 in the third quarter and turned a two-point halftime lead into a 23-point lead.
And when the Warriors got the first six points in the fourth quarter, the Celtics seemed to have given up and reached for their entire bench.
Kevon Looney had 12 points for Golden State on 6-for-6 shooting, and Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson added 11 apiece.
Jayson Tatum scored 21 of his 28 points in the first half for Boston’s cause. Jaylen Brown added 17 points for the Celtics, but struggled shooting 5-of-17, and Derrick White had 12 points.
As in the first match, a great offense defined the match. The Celtics managed 48 points against 18 of their rivals in the second half to decide the first duel; the Warriors didn’t wait that long in Game 2, unleashing a 43-14 run from late in the first half through early in the fourth quarter to seal the win with a bang.
The third game will be played on Wednesday in Boston.
Curry had 14 of his points in the third period, shooting three of his five 3-pointers.
Boston had shot 4-for-15 in that quarter, was outscored 21-6 in the third and allowed the Warriors to convert on 11 points on five turnovers.
Poole drew a cheer with his touchdown late in the third quarter, receiving a pass in the closing seconds, dribbling down the half-court strip, creating some space and making the shot.
For the first time, fans finally saw the Warriors win for the first time in their new home against the Celtics.
Going into the game, Boston was 4-0 on the Warriors’ floor and was the only team to have won its first four games on that stage.
The Celtics were trying to join the only other two teams, the 1993 Chicago Bulls and the 1995 Houston Rockets, as having won two road games to start in the Finals. The Bulls and Rockets of those years won the championship and 31 of 36 teams that had gone up 2-0 in the series ended up winning the title.
Of course, all is not lost for Boston. The Celtics need to win their remaining home games to clinch the championship, though that won’t be easy against the Warriors, who have won at least one road game in an NBA-record 26 straight playoff series.
