OAKLAND, Calif. – The biggest scare on Thursday night wasn’t delivered by the Utah Jazz, who, through two games and two losses, have shown just enough grit to keep it mildly competitive but not enough firepower to legitimately concern the Golden State Warriors.
OAKLAND, Calif. – The biggest scare on Thursday night wasn’t delivered by the Utah Jazz, who, through two games and two losses, have shown just enough grit to keep it mildly competitive but not enough firepower to legitimately concern the Golden State Warriors.
Nope, the biggest scare was delivered by Draymond Green, who, after starring for the game’s first 40 minutes, took a hard fall and then a slipping tumble as he tried to get up, grabbing his left knee and staying down, as the arena went silent.
They’d rise again soon after, as Green returned from the locker room to the bench and eventually the court, helping the Warriors finish off a Game 2 win 115-104 to take a commanding 2-0 series lead to Utah. The status of that left leg will be a topic in the hours before Game 3, but for now it seems the Warriors dodged a bullet.
And it was quite the dangerous bullet, considering how well Green is currently playing.
In Round 1, Green dominated the Blazers with his defense, blocking 17 shots in four games and terrorizing every inch of the court. But lost within his defensive dominance was some surprising sharpshooting. Green made 11 of his 20 3s against Portland.
That hot streak has now leaked over into the Utah series.
Green opened Game 2 scorching hot from deep, nailing four first quarter 3s as Utah continually left Green wide open and he continually made them pay. Earlier in the season, Green hit five 3s in Salt Lake City and later revealed that his aggressiveness was because he’d heard a comment from Jazz coach Quin Snyder that his team wouldn’t game plan for Green’s deep shot.
The strategy seems smart. Green dipped from 38 percent down to below 31 percent from 3 this season, struggling to make open shots and grumbling about his struggles during off-days.
But similar to Game 7 of the Finals last season – when Green hit six of eight 3s – his stroke has returned at the season’s most important time.
Those four 3s blasted the Warriors out to a 33-15 first quarter lead, allowing them to bob in and out of focus the rest of the night, pawing away the gritty Jazz every time they climbed near or within single digits.
The Warriors reverted to some concerning ways at times on Thursday. After only turning it over seven times in Game 1, they coughed it up 17 times in Game 2 – often carelessly and in the open court, allowing Utah some easy hoops (22 points off Golden State turnovers) .
But it wasn’t just the turnovers that kept Utah in it. It was some occasionally lazy defense. To start the second half, the Warriors yawned as Joe Johnson planted a corner 3 and then, because of a defensive breakdown in transition, let Shelvin Mack walk into a wide open wing 3. Mike Brown called a timeout 44 seconds into the second half.
But the Warriors would respond to any mild threat, bolting back up on the strength of a sturdy game up and down their rotation. Kevin Durant was particularly effective, going for 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven important assists – including the game-sealer for an Andre Iguodala dunk. Durant made 13 of his 15 free throws.
Steph Curry had 23 points, Klay Thompson chipped in 14 and Iguodala, who is now a frigid 0-of-18 from 3 in the playoffs, contributed elsewhere, dunking three times and scoring 10 points.
But Green, again, was the star, continuing his torrid run through the postseason. He had seven rebounds, six assists and another block, his 20th in six playoff games. But his most important attribute on Thursday was his rarest: the 3-point shot.
Green finished with five 3s, tying Curry for a team-high. He now has 18 in the playoffs, which is more than Thompson (16) , LeBron James (15) and Kevin Love (13) , among some of the league’s other sharpshooters.
His strong play only made that late injury scare more concerning for the Warriors. After an errant layup on a fourth quarter drive, Green tumbled down at the baseline and got a bit tangled up with Rudy Gobert. As Green tried to get up, he seemed to slip and his left leg bent strangely. Green crumbled to the floor, grabbed at his knee and stayed down for a minute, before limping to the locker room.
But the do-everything power forward would return and all would be well again for the Warriors, who are 6-0 with six dominant playoff wins.
