Basketball Daily Dose: Dose: Curry, Dubs destroy OKC
Stephen Curry shoots lights out as Warriors rip Thunder in 118-91 Game 2 win
Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals was fun to watch for about two and a half quarters, but Stephen Curry went on a one-man wrecking ball blitz, scoring 15 straight points for the Warriors, and giving them a 76-59 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter. And that, as they say, was all she wrote. Curry finished with 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting in just 30 minutes, and also had two rebounds, three assists, a steal and five 3-pointers in the 118-91 win. The series is now tied at 1-1 and heads to OKC for Games 3 and 4, taking place on Sunday at 8 p.m. and Tuesday at 9 p.m., with both games airing on TNT.
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The rest of the Warriors weren’t great last night, but they still easily blew out the Thunder after being shocked in Game 1. Draymond Green had 10 points, eight rebounds, seven dimes, one steal, two blocks and two 3-pointers in 32 minutes, and while he didn’t score a ton, he racked up the fantasy goodies with some ease. Klay Thompson struggled with his shot, hitting just 5-of-17 of them and two 3-pointers, and finished with 15 points, two rebounds, four assists and a steal in 30 minutes. Harrison Barnes added 11 points, six boards, three assists and a 3-pointer on 5-of-8 shooting, and Andrew Bogut added four points, six boards and a steal in just 16 minutes to round out the scoring for the starters.
The GSW bench was solid, led by Andre Iguodala’s 14 points, three rebounds, three steals and a 3-pointer. Marreese Speights played just nine minutes, mostly in garbage time, but hit 5-of-6 shots and two 3-pointers for 13 points and two rebounds. This was much better than Game 1’s 1-point disaster, but it only happened because of the blowout. Don’t touch him in fantasy unless you have no other options. Festus Ezeli played 14 minutes and made all five of his shots, finishing with 12 points, five boards and a block. The minutes weren’t great, but he looks like a much better punt than Speights. Anderson Varejao had four points and four boards, Leandro Barbosa scored four points with a couple steals in 16 minutes, and Shaun Livingston had just two points with four boards and three assists in 17 minutes. The bottom line is that you’re probably better off going with two studs and a well-rounded lineup in DFS than trying to stack four studs and praying for the scrubs to come through.
For the Thunder, Kevin Durant came through with 29 points, six boards, a steal and two 3-pointers on 11-of-18 shooting after hitting just 10-of-30 shots in Game 1. But he also had an uncharacteristic eight turnovers, as the Warriors defense smothered the Thunder superstars in Game 2. Russell Westbrook hit just 5-of-14 shots for 16 points, but at least had 12 dimes, two steals, a 3-pointer and just three turnovers in the loss. Steven Adams left early after having his back fallen on by Festus Ezeli, but he was able to play through it, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds. Andre Roberson had five points, three boards and a 3-pointer in 15 minutes, while Serge Ibaka fell back to earth, hitting just 1-of-6 shots (a 3-pointer) for three points, eight boards, three steals and zero blocks. Ibaka’s disappearing act was a big reason the Thunder were blown out in Game 2.
Dion Waiters led the bench with seven points, a 3-pointer, three assists, a steal and a block, but hit just 3-of-11 shots in 29 minutes. Enes Kanter had six points, two rebounds and a block in just 15 minutes, and he’s no longer worth using in DFS – especially if he couldn’t do anything with Ibaka struggling. Randy Foye and Anthony Morrow each scored five points and Nick Collison had four points, but Morrow and Collison got their points in garbage time.
Keep an eye on Adams’ back injury and look for the Warriors to at least split in OKC, setting up a potential Game 7. We still haven’t seen either team play at their best, as both sides are stepping up on the defensive end.
Raptors @ Cavaliers Game 2 – Thursday, 8:30 p.m. on ESPN
Jonas Valanciunas says he’s only at 50 percent, which doesn’t bode well for him playing tonight. Bismack Biyombo should be a hot play once again, while the Raptors will need big games from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan if they have any hope of not falling into an 0-2 hole against the East’s best team.
I think J.R. Smith is going to have a big game tonight. He’s due and if he hits a couple shots early, look out. And if we get another blowout, Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye are all in play. It would also be nice to see Tristan Thompson step up and crash the boards, especially since I have him locked into a lineup as my starting center. The only question remaining about this series is, do the Cavaliers sweep the Raptors? I’d say there’s about a 60 percent chance it will happen. And if it does, the Cavs are going to be very well rested when they face the Warriors or Thunder in the Finals.
