The Warriors had a big lead in the first game, but they completely blew it in the fourth quarter. They had to come out attacking in a must-win game. The Celtics looked good early. Brown and Tatum each had 13 points in the first quarter. The Warriors did and good job containing Al Horford as he had only 2 points compared to his 26-point outing in game 1. They forced Horford to go out beyond the three-point line, where it would be a difficult shot for him to take and make.

The game was close at halftime as the Warriors led by 2. The Warriors’ general third quarter avalanche occurred, and they pulled away in the third, giving Boston no chance. Jordan Poole in the first half looked slow, small, and unmatched. The Celtics defenders were looking too tough for him. Marcus Smart and Derrick White were locking him down. Poole overcame the defenders in the third and significantly impacted the Warriors amongst their avalanche. He hit huge threes to extend the Warriors’ lead. In his first game back from injury, Gary Payton II had good minutes alongside Kevon Looney, who was also pretty solid. The Warriors won the game 107 – 88

Draymond Green played a critical role in setting the Warriors’ tone, which led to their Game 2 triumph. He was talking to everybody and the refs nonstop. Green got a technical foul in the first quarter as he was so focused on the game, which got the Warriors crowd going. This helped motivate Green, and the game went on. He became a focal point on defense and locked down and intimidated Jaylen Brown, who shot 5/17 from the field, and Al Horford, who had only 2 points. They were critical for the Celtics in their Game 1 triumph. Green never stopped being aggressive on the court, as this game was a must-win for his team. After game 1, Green said, “We knew we had to keep our foot on the gas pedal and not let up.” He did exactly what he said on the court in game 2. Green’s stats aren’t that impressive, which shows up on the box score after each game. This doesn’t justify his on-court presence, which is his will to do whatever he can to lead his team to victory.

Klay Thompson only shot 4/19 in game 2, and he is shooting only 10/33 from the field and 4/15 from the three-point line in the entire series. Luckily others stepped up for the Warriors to win the game, but he needs to improve going forward if the Warriors want to win this series. The Celtics got to stop doing the drip coverage as that leads to many threes by the Warriors. The Celtics had seven turnovers in the first quarter alone. Typically when the Celtics have lost in these playoffs, they have committed many turnovers. The Celtics being down by only two at the half was a blessing in disguise. Even though Tatum had 28 points, he did not get many open looks as the Warriors locked him up. Tatum is a tough shot-taker and maker. Even after that, I believe that Tatum wasn’t effective as he shot 8/19 from the field and had a +/- of -36, which was the lowest on the team. The difference between games 1 and 2 with Tatum was that even if he was struggling, in game 1, he became a facilitator and created open shots for his teammates. In contrast, in game 2, he tried to score a lot, which is essential but not the only factor that will help you win games. Marcus Smart was also ineffective, shooting only 1/6 from the field, and not being his DPOY self on the court. Players like Horford, White, and Pritchard, who were influential in game 1, were pathetic in game 2, combining for only 18 points. Players who were crucial for the Celtics’ game 1 victory did not show up for game 2. 

Even after game 2, I still believe the Celtics have the upper hand in this series. They took home-court advantage away from the Warriors in game 1, and I know that the Boston crowd in TD Garden will be ready to give all they got for game 3. The Celtics are undefeated after a loss in this entire postseason. They always came back when it looked like times they were going to lose in their series against Milwaukee and Miami after stinker games just like this. They successfully responded under pressure. I am excited that both teams are great at fighting back and have great coaches in Ime Udoka and Steve Kerr, who will continue to make adjustments along the way to make this a back-and-forth series.