After a wonderful start in the Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Celtics lost their momentum to the Warriors on June 5 at Chase Center. The Golden State Warriors stole the victory after a successful 19-2 rampage in the last four minutes of the 3rd quarter. At the end of the last quarter, the Celtics have lost to the warriors 88 to 107 with a whopping 19-point lead.
The game helped the Warriors to tie the finals and helped their marquee players like Stephen Current and Jordan Poole find their rhythm. A few last-minute performances, especially in the last two quarters, helped the Warriors expand the margin for this great victory.
Poole’s 19-2 rampage in the last 4:32 minutes of the third quarter pushed the slim 2-point lead to a staggering 23-point lead. The four minutes of good basketball allowed the Warriors to offload their pressure entering the final quarter. Poole had only 1-of-5 3-pointers in the second quarter. He finished the game with 17 points with 5 triples.
On the other hand, Curry took great advantage of the coverage drop and finished with an impressive 29 points. His performance also includes 5-of-12 3-pointers. Unfortunately, others have not been as impressive as this duo from the Warriors. Klay Thompson still struggled in the field with 4-of-19 3-pointers and settled for only 11 points at the end. Draymond Green and Kevon Looney scored 9 and 13 points, respectively.
The Celtics also had their fair share of action in Game 2. The Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown duo were destructive in the first half. In particular, Tatum scored an unreal 21 points in the first half after a slow 12-point start in Game 1. He also became the first person to secure 20 points in the first half for the Celtics in more than a decade. Previously, Ray Allen scored 20 points for the Celtics in half in 2010.
In the end, Tatum finished the game with 28 points and 6-of-9 3-pointers. He also contributed six rebounds and three assists. On the other hand, Brown scored 17 points with six rebounds and three assists.
Turnovers have proved fatal for the Celtics during Game 2, with 18. On top of that, star players like Marcus Smart, Al Horford, and Robert Williams have scored only two points each. Moreover, the Celtics were not also good at 2-pointers throughout the game with 34.9%. The Sunday game helped the Warriors to tie the 7-game NBA finals. The teams will meet again on Wednesday for the next game.
