A slump like at the start of the NBA Finals doesn't happen twice for the Golden State Warriors. Led by Steph Curry, they are so dominant that the Celtics accept defeat early on. Boston professional Theis has a clear idea for the next game.
The Chase Center in San Francisco shook with every shot thrown by the Golden State Warriors in game two of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. As at the start on Thursday, the hosts pulled away again in the third quarter - but now the lead was so big that the record champions from the east coast gave up all attempts to catch up early on and at least wanted to save energy for the other games. This series will be hard work - and there are at least three games left before a team has the four successes to the title. At the earliest, it could be the next game in San Francisco.
It was now 107:88 for the Warriors around NBA star Steph Curry, who took control in the third quarter after a first half that was unremarkable by his standards. "Steph was stunning in the district," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. "Not only the throws made, but also his use on the defensive." Curry was also satisfied with himself and his defensive performance. "That was always a focus when trying to win basketball games," said the 34-year-old. "I put a lot of work into that."
On three so-called steals, i.e. balls stolen from the opponent, Curry came up next to his 29 points. So he had a big part in the concerns of the Celtics. "There were far too many turnovers. I think almost 20 turnovers, 33 points from that. That's the game," said national player Daniel Theis of the German Press Agency. "Third quarter, we have to stop that. We can't hope, like in the first game, that we go minus 15 and then come back in a game like that." The Warriors, on the other hand, only conceded 15 points after losing the ball.
In the TD Garden in Boston, the Celtics get just as loud support from their spectators as the Warriors in the Chase Center - the team around Theis, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown was not necessarily strong at home in these playoffs. "It feels like we've been a bit relaxed at home lately. It was probably because we had home advantage. But we need a certain urgency and have to play better at home," Taytum demanded before game three early Thursday morning (3 a.m CEST). "After defeats, we've come back all the way through the playoffs," said Theis. "That's the most important thing for us now: to play our basketball and, above all, not to play so badly."
The Warriors are hoping for the seventh title in their history and the first since 2018. If the Celtics win after 14 years of waiting, they would again be the sole record champions in the world's best basketball league with 18 wins ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers.
