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Defending champions the Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 127-100 at the Chase Center. A blowout victory tied the series 1-1 and now heads to the Crypto.com Arena.
The Warriors' core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green came out blazing in Game 2.
Thompson led the scoring with a super-efficient 30-point game shooting 8-11 from the three-point line. Stephen Curry poured in 20 points and dished out 12 assists. Draymond Green started at center in response to AD's monster Game 1. Green held AD to just 11 points and forced four turnovers.
Here are the key takeaways from Game 2:
Warriors ran PnR throughout the game
After Anthony Davis' dominance in the paint, defensively, in Game 1, the Warriors ran a ton of Pick and Roll with Draymond Green at the center.
In doing so, AD was forced to come out and guard on the wing against the likes of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, leaving the lane open. Golden State's offense fired up shooting 50% from the field and 50% from the beyond the arc, tying the franchise playoff record with 21 made threes.
Klay Thompson came up big when it counted
Klay Thompson made eight of his 11 3-point attempts, a staggering 73% shooting.
Most of these buckets were not easy looks and Thompson kept knocking them down at crunch times to extend their lead throughout the first three quarters. Defensively, Thompson held up on his end against the likes of Austin Reaves, LeBron James and the rest.
Klay Thompson's statline: 30 points, 3 rebounds, 11-18 shooting, 8-11 from the 3-point range, +28.
LeBron James faded in the second half
LeBron had a fiery start to Game 2, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers, after shooting just 18% from beyond the arc these playoffs. James dropped 21 points in the first half shooting 9-13 from the field.
Then came the Warriors avalanche in the third quarter as they extended their lead to massive 28 points at the end of the third. LeBron was 1-5 from the field in the second half scoring only 2 points.
The LA Lakers need more of his offensive firepower to stand a chance against the best offensive team in the league.
As for Game 3 at the Crypto.com Arena, can the Warriors regain home-court advantage and take the series lead, or do the Lakers have it in them to turn it around? We'll find out on Saturday.
