Written by Chris Haynes at ESPN.com
Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals was in the books long before it was in the books.
It was widely believed that a Kawhi Leonard-less San Antonio Spurs squad didn’t stand a chance at Oracle Arena, and that proved to be accurate Tuesday evening.
The Golden State Warriors pummeled the Spurs 136-100, taking a commanding 2-0 series lead as the series shifts to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4. One ankle sprain appears to have drastically changed the competitive nature of this series.
“We have to strike first,” Kevin Durant told ESPN before the game. “We can’t allow them to get off to the start they had last game. We have to be the aggressors.”
Aggressors, they were.
Curry dropped 15 of his 29 points and four of his six 3-pointers in the first 12 minutes of the contest. At the end of one, the Warriors led 33-16. The Spurs, who were 6-of-26 from the field at the time, scored just one more point than Curry after one quarter.
Curry has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in all 68 of his postseason games, extending an NBA record. In the last three games, he’s averaging 33.0 points and shooting 57 percent from the floor and 49 percent from long distance.
Every active player scored for the Warriors, with seven players reaching double-digits. Golden State registered 39 assists on 50 field goals and drained 18 3-pointers, 10 more than their opponent.
All evening San Antonio struggled to get into offensive sets and seemed confused as to where the offense would be generated.
They tried a couple of options. Midway in the first quarter, they went down low to Pau Gasol.
The big man was defended by Draymond Green. Gasol took a couple of back-down dribbles and Green snatched the ball away and proceeded to start a 3-on-1 break that ended with a Curry left-wing triple.
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