Curry stars as Warriors hit back at Celtics to level NBA Finals series

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, middle, drives to the basket between Boston Celtics center Al Horford, left, and guard Derrick White during the first half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals in San Francisco. (AP)
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Updated 06 June 2022
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Curry stars as Warriors hit back at Celtics to level NBA Finals series

  • The Warriors defense, marshalled brilliantly by Draymond Green, suffocated Boston in the second half, with two high-scoring Celtics heroes from Game 1 — Al Horford and Marcus held to just four points combined

SAN FRANCISCO: Stephen Curry scored 29 points as the Golden State Warriors roared back into NBA Finals contention on Sunday with a series-leveling 107-88 game two victory over the Boston Celtics.

Curry spearheaded a deadly display of Golden State shooting in San Francisco while a superb Warriors defensive effort shut down Boston’s key offensive weapons.

The Warriors, who squandered a 12-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 1, were in no mood to allow lightning to strike twice as they cut loose to build a double-digit advantage in the third quarter to tie the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

Curry led the scoring for Golden State, with Jordan Poole (17 points), Andrew Wiggins (11), Kevon Looney (12) and Klay Thompson (11) also making double figures.

Jayson Tatum topped the Boston scorers with 28 points, but crucially 21 of those came in a hardfought first half.

Only two other Boston players — Jaylen Brown with 17 points and Derrick White with 12 — cracked double digits.

The Warriors defense, marshalled brilliantly by Draymond Green, suffocated Boston in the second half, with two high-scoring Celtics heroes from Game 1 — Al Horford and Marcus held to just four points combined.

The series now moves to Boston with Game 3 scheduled for Wednesday and Game 4 on Friday.

“We said we needed to play with desperation and that’s what we did,” said Curry. “It’s a good feeling to get back on track and now we’ve got to take it on the road.

“We got off to a better start defensively where we made an imprint on the game and they felt us more than they did in game one. Our third quarter was great and we got a bit more separation that made the fourth quarter easier tonight.”

The Warriors put themselves in a winning position after outscoring Boston 35-14 in the third quarter to take an 87-64 lead into the fourth quarter.

Poole electrified San Francisco’s packed Chase Center after launching a buzzer-beating three-pointer from near halfway at the end of the third to cap a devastating passage of play from the home team.

The Warriors kept up the pressure in the early part of the fourth quarter, extending their lead to 29 points as the Celtics scrambled to regroup before closing out a blowout win.

“I thought everybody was more engaged,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “It was pretty obvious, just our level of force and physicality was ramped up quite a bit, and it had to be.

“What Boston did in the fourth quarter the other night, we knew we had to come with a much better focus and sense of aggression, and I thought that started right from the beginning.”

Boston, who erupted for 40 points in the final quarter to win Game 1, picked up where they left off on Sunday, jumping out to an early 13-5 lead with Brown leading the way.

A Brown three-pointer took Boston into a 22-13 lead early in the first quarter before a sustained Warriors rally led by Curry saw the hosts get back to within one point.

A Curry layup on the buzzer gave Golden State a 31-30 lead heading into the second quarter.

Again though Boston found another gear, with Tatum nailing a three-pointer to put the Celtics 33-31 ahead. The Celtics took a five-point lead at 40-35 with a White three-pointer.

The Warriors responded with a 10-0 lead to go up 45-40 and there was little to separate the two teams in the closing stages of the half. Wiggins scored from an offensive rebound to give the Warriors a slender 52-50 half-time lead.

Boston looked the more dangerous team for long periods of the first half, and made 10-of-19 from three-point range, including five from Tatum while Brown finished the half with 15 points.

But the Warriors — who made only six from beyond the arc in the first half erupted after the break to seal the game.

The Celtics, meanwhile, coughed up 18 turnovers as the Warriors defense took charge.

Celtics coach Ime Udoka was left ruing his team’s failure to build on a bright start.

“The third quarter was disappointing but the first half was just as disappointing,” Udoka said.

“Had our opportunities. Came out, jumped out up nine early. Then turnovers started happening. Let them back in the game.”


England ‘not fearing anything’ against India, says Curran

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England ‘not fearing anything’ against India, says Curran

England will take on the favorites and hosts in front of 35,000 fiercely partisan fans in Mumbai on Thursday
Curran said that because he and many of his England teammates play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), they will not be fazed

MUMBAI: England will go into their T20 World Cup semifinal against India with no fear, said all-rounder Sam Curran on Tuesday, adding that their first job would be to silence a raucous home crowd.
England will take on the favorites and hosts in front of 35,000 fiercely partisan fans in Mumbai on Thursday, with a place in the final against South Africa or New Zealand at stake.
The noise will be deafening at times in the cauldron-like confines of the Wankhede Stadium.
But Curran said that because he and many of his England teammates — such as Will Jacks at Mumbai Indians — play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), they will not be fazed.
“It’s an experience as a young cricketer you dream of — playing India in the semifinal of a World Cup,” left-arm seamer Curran told reporters.
Curran was in the international wilderness a year ago but forced his way back into the England squad with eye-catching performances in T20 franchise leagues, including the IPL.
“India are a quality side but we’ve played a lot of cricket here. We know how to play on these grounds and we know what to expect,” he said.
“The IPL, no question, has helped a lot. Having played in the ground many times, there’s not many unknowns.”
England experienced a hostile crowd at the Wankhede in their first match of the tournament when they beat Nepal in a final-ball thriller.
It was Curran who bowled the nerveless final “death” over, conceding just five runs when Nepal needed 10, to stave off an embarrassing defeat.
He then repeated the feat against Italy and has contributed with the bat from number six, scoring 149 runs so far with a best of 43 not out.
“We’re not fearing anything and I’m sure both teams are really excited by the challenge,” Curran said, adding England could judge how well they were playing by the volume of the fans.
“If the crowd are silent, England are probably going to be doing well. That’s our positive way of looking at it,” said Curran.
It is the third T20 World Cup in a row that England will have played India in the semifinals and each time the winners went on to lift the trophy.
In 2022, England crushed India by 10 wickets in Adelaide and went on to beat Pakistan in the Melbourne final.
Two years ago India won in Guyana by a similarly dominant 68 runs before downing South Africa in Barbados.
South Africa face New Zealand in the first semifinal on Wednesday. The final will take place on Sunday in Ahmedabad.
“I guess this is what the last four or five weeks have been building for,” said Curran.
“And hopefully we can take one more step toward the final.”