Following their Game 1 loss to Oklahoma City on Monday, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors returned to their usual selves and secured a 118-91 home victory over the Thunder in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals Wednesday night.
Curry led the Warriors with 28 points, 15 of which he scored in a little under two minutes in the middle of the third quarter. It was his best performance since his 17-point overtime explosion against the Trail Blazers in Portland in the second round, a night during which he finished with 40 points.
Kevin Durant finished with 29 points for the Thunder, 25 of which came in the first half. Up until there was 7:10 left in the third quarter, Durant was actually playing significantly better than Curry, earning 23 points on 13 shots against Curry’s 11 points on nine shots. Two minutes later, however, Curry had the 2014 MVP one-upped with 26 points on 13 shots, after not having scored since the first quarter.
The Warriors star point guard also had a right elbow that was swollen to what he called the size of a tennis ball after he fell on one of the metal plates that ring the court at Oracle Arena while chasing a loose ball into the stands in the first half. He wore a soft white sleeve on the elbow afterward, and at the end of the post-game news conference, he claimed he only felt a little pressure in it while he was shooting. With Golden State up 64-57 midway through the third quarter, he put up 15 in less than two minutes to extend the lead to 79-59, including a three-pointer from 27 feet out.
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Golden State out-rebounded Oklahoma City 45-36. The Thunder shot just 44.9 percent from the field overall, and had 16 turnovers (half of them from Durant) that led to 23 points. A Durant alley-oop from Russell Westbrook tied it at 49 with 1:35 left in the first half. However, the Warriors then finished off the half with an 8-0 run.
Game 3 is set for Sunday in Oklahoma City.
PHOTO: OAKLAND, CA – MAY 16: Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder takes a shot over Andrew Bogut #12 of the Golden State Warriors during game one of the NBA Western Conference Final at ORACLE Arena on May 16, 2016 in Oakland, California.
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