Warriors go on a legendary 3rd quarter performance to even the series at 1 / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP - Scanpix Credit AP - Scanpix

Stephen Curry went on a shooting spree, Jordan Poole hit a spectacular buzzer-beater, and the Golden State Warriors stunned the Boston Celtics in the 3rd quarter to even the NBA Finals series 107-88 (31-30, 21-20, 35-14, 20-24).

Player of the Game EFF 25 Stephen Curry Points 29 Accuracy 9-21 Rebounds 6 Assists 4

The legends about the Warriors' dominance in 3rd quarters were on display during Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Golden State took control early and built themselves a 10-point lead with 8 minutes to go in the quarter (62-54). Even though the Celtics hit two three-pointers in a row to cut the deficit down to 6 (62-68), the Warriors showed their superiority.

Golden State went on a 19-2 run in the last 4 minutes of the quarter to build an impressive 23-point lead (87-64). To cap it off, Jordan Poole hit a miraculous buzzer-beater to end the third quarter in which the Warriors outscored their opponents by a whopping margin - 35-14.

The fourth quarter was a mere formality. Golden State's lead went up as high as 29 points, and both teams let their bench players perform during the last several minutes of the game.

Stephen Curry was the star of the show on the home team, scoring 29 points (4/9 2PT, 5/12 3PT, 6/7 FT), grabbing 6 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists, and making 3 steals. Jordan Poole was the second-leading scorer on the team with 17 points (5/9 3PT), also contributing with 3 assists and 2 steals to the victory.

Jayson Tatum was the lead man on the visitors' team, scoring 28 points (2/10 2PT, 6/9 3PT, 6/8 FT), grabbing 4 rebounds, and dishing out 3 assists.

Emotions started to flare early on with Draymond Green getting into a couple of physical altercations during the first half- first with Grant Williams, then with Jaylen Brown.

The Celtics started the game strong going on a quick 10-2 run early in the first quarter (13-5) with Jaylen Brown scoring 8 of the team's first 13 points. Led by a dynamic Brown-Tatum duo, the visitors kept a comfortable 5-6-point lead throughout the majority of the first 10 minutes.

Boston Celtics / Schedule

Golden State Warriors Boston Celtics108-120 Golden State Warriors Boston Celtics107-88 Boston Celtics Golden State WarriorsThu01:00 Boston Celtics Golden State WarriorsSat01:00

The Warriors, however, pushed back. Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole hit a couple of triples, Stephen Curry hit a bank shot to end the quarter, and the home team had a minimal lead after the first quarter - 31-30.

The teams continued to trade blows in the second quarter. While the rest of the Celtics players were struggling, it was the Jayson Tatum show. One three-pointer after another, the team's star kept the club afloat.

The visitors kept making a substantial amount of mistakes throughout the first two quarters, and the Warriors took advantage. However, the first half once again belonged to Tatum. The Celtics forward made 5 three-pointers out of 7 during the first 24 minutes, scoring 21 points in total in the first half.

A dominant first half from the two Celtics stars meant a new milestone for them. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum became the first Celtics teammates to each have 450 points in the same postseason since Paul Pierce & Kevin Garnett in 2008.

Jayson Tatum (511) has now eclipsed 500 points in the 2022 NBA Playoffs.Tatum is now the 4th player in Celtics franchise history to score 500+ points in a single postseason. He is also the youngest to ever do it (24) with Larry Bird previously holding the record at 27 years old.

However, Jayson Tatum was -36 in the plus-minus stat during Game 2. According to Statmuse, it is the worst +/- by any player in a Finals game in the play-by-play era.

Game 2 of the NBA Finals was significant for Draymond Green as well. The Warriors forward moved into 10th place on the all-time NBA Finals assists list.

After scoring 26 points in Game 1 of the finals, it was a rough night for Al Horford. The Celtics big man made only 1 shot from the field and ended the game with only 2 points in his tally. All 13 registered players played at least 3 minutes for the Warriors, while 14 players from the Celtics entered the court.

Warriors: Stephen Curry 29 (4/9 2PT, 5/12 3PT, 6/7 FT, 6 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL), Jordan Poole 17 (5/9 3PT), Kevon Looney 12 (6/6 2PT, 7 REB, 3 STL), Klay Thompson 11 (3/11 2PT, 1/8 3PT), Andrew Wiggins 11 (2/9 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 6 REB).

Celtics: Jayson Tatum 28 (2/10 2PT, 6/9 3PT, 6/8 FT, 6 REB, 4 TO), Jaylen Brown 17 (2/8 2PT, 3/9 3PT, 6 REB), Derrick White 12 (2/9 2PT, 2/4 3PT, 2 BLK).

Full game highlights:

Warriors 3rd Quarter 19-2 run:

Stephen Curry highlights:

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