Warriors overwhelm Blazers with unreal crunch-time run, go up 2-0
The Golden State Warriors have performed quite well without the injured Stephen Curry this postseason, but it’s fairly apparent that success comes more difficultly when the NBA MVP isn’t on the floor. The Curry-less Warriors are a different beast — they don’t make or take as many three-pointers, run the offense a little more deliberately, and rely more heavily on their defense. It’s not always as fun as watching Curry score 20 in a quarter, but this style works pretty well.
[Follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
The fourth quarter of Tuesday’s Western Conference Finals Game 2 vs. the Portland Trail Blazers showed that this no-Steph version of the Warriors can even look like a title contender. After not holding a lead for the first 42 minutes (and change), Golden State steamrolled Portland in crunch-time for a come-from-behind win that ended up with a final score that looks like a comfortable victory for a team up 2-0.
Down 91-82 entering the final nine minutes, the Warriors closed on an overwhelming 28-6 run (up until a meaningless Blazers bucket late) to pick up a very impressive 110-99 win. This Draymond Green dunk was one of the loudest moments:
The Warriors will head north for Saturday’s Game 3 with a 2-0 lead and the hope that Curry can return from his MCL sprain. Even if he doesn’t, the Warriors look in good shape in this series.
– – – – – – –
Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
