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Klay Thompson drained eight-of-nine from beyond the arc and Stephen Curry scored 22 points as the Golden State Warriors beat San Antonio 100-91 in game two of their second round playoff series. |
Thompson, who finished just one three pointer shy of the NBA playoff record, had 34 points and 14 rebounds for the Warriors on Wednesday at AT&T Center arena. Golden State held on for the victory to even the series 1-1 after the Spurs cut into their 20-point third quarter lead by storming back in the fourth.
Thompson wasn’t just an offensive force as he also did a superb job of shutting down Spurs star Tony Parker.
“I told him at halftime that was in the discussion for one of the greatest halves ever, not only for what he did offensively, but what he did defensively,” Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said.
The Warriors had lost 30 consecutive games in San Antonio dating back to February 1997, including game one’s double-overtime thriller, which saw the Spurs come back from 16 points down over the final four minutes of the fourth.
On Wednesday, San Antonio pulled within six down the stretch, but missed six consecutive shots to fall short. Tim Duncan scored a team-high 23 points, while Parker added 20 in the loss.
Game three is scheduled for today at Oracle Arena, where Golden State won both meetings during the regular season.
Curry, who made the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated magazine, was also hitting his shots. Heading into Wednesday’s game, Curry led the NBA playoffs in assists with an average of 9.6 per game and was third best in points at 27.1 per game behind only Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant. Thompson and Curry carried the Warriors on their backs in the first half. He and Curry combined for 23 points in the first quarter, matching the Spurs’ total en route to a 28-23 Warrior lead.
He nailed two three pointers to close the first half and give Golden State a 62-43 lead going into the third. His three-point barrage came as a bit of surprise considering Thompson had missed 11 consecutive threes heading into game two.
“We didn’t shoot it very well when we were open,” head coach Gregg Popovich said of the Spurs who shot just 39 percent from the field. Manu Ginobili was the double overtime hero in game one for the Spurs but he finished with just 12 points and went one-of-six from beyond the arc in Wednesday’s loss.
The Spurs had their moments. Kawhi Leonard’s dunk sparked a 14-2 run that ended with three-pointers from Danny Green and Gary Neal, which cut the Warriors’ lead to seven points, 77-70 in the third.
Heat rout Bulls in chippy playoff contest
Ray Allen scored 21 points as Miami rebounded from a game-one loss to rout Chicago 115-78 on Wednesday, handing the Bulls their most lopsided playoff defeat in franchise history.
LeBron James finished with 19 points and nine assists and Dwyane Wade and Norris Cole each scored 15 points in Wednesday’s chippy National Basketball Association contest that saw Bulls Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson ejected in the second half.
“Our guys came in with a stronger disposition,” said coach Erik Spoelstra after the Heat tied the second-round series at 1-1. “What we talked about was competing at highest level with composure. Our guys are ultra competitive.”
Allen came off the bench to score his 21 points in just 19 minutes of playing time for the Heat, who had six players score in double figures and shot an impressive 60 percent from the field at American Airlines Arena.
Miami bounced back in a big way from a 93-86 game-one loss where they shot just 39 percent from the field.
The injury-plagued Bulls lost their composure at times as they compiled a total of 27 fouls, including a half dozen technicals. Gibson and Noah were ejected early in the fourth quarter.
“They were more aggressive more determined,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We were back on our heels. We got sidetracked and we can’t do that. “We allowed frustration to carry over to the next play. We can’t get wrapped up in that stuff.”
The Heat dominated at both ends of the court, forcing the Bulls to turn the ball over 19 times. Marco Belinelli paced Chicago with 13 points and six assists and Noah scored 12 points before being ejected.
Game three of this best-of-seven Eastern Conference series is today in Chicago. The game in front of a crowd of 19,817 at the American Airlines Arena included 51 personal fouls, seven technicals and the two ejections.
“Chicago is going to be physical and we are not going to shy away from it,” James said.
The Heat returned to their dominating ways Wednesday against the Bulls team that had snapped Miami’s 27-game win streak earlier in the season.
Heat haven’t been immune from trailing in a playoff series before. Miami fell behind in three different series last year en route to their second NBA championship. Chicago stole the game one victory with a 10-0 run to close the contest. “We did a poor job of finishing the other night,” Spoelstra said. “In this game, there was more of a concentration. We were able to win tonight and we held our own in the rebound battle. We had much better ball movement and a trust level that different guys could make plays.”
Miami put the game out of reach with a dominant third quarter that was highlighted by an dynamic 11-0 run.
Wade scored a half dozen points during the scoring outburst, which ended with the Heat ahead 75-47 with four minutes to go in the third. They took an 85-56 led into the fourth quarter.
Miami continued to pour it on in the final quarter, recording the first 12 points of the fourth as the Bulls’ frustrations mounted.
Noah and Gibson were ejected for complaining about a foul called on teammate Marquis Teague. The Bulls have been ravaged by injuries, starting with former league MVP Derrick Rose, who has still not returned from a torn ACL suffered in last season’s playoffs.
Noah limped into these playoffs with plantar fasciitis and Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng both have missed significant time in the post-season.