OAKLAND, Calif. (Diya TV) — On one play, Stephen Curry dribbled the ball 14 times before bursting through the Oklahoma City Thunder defenders for a layup. On another during the first quarter, he took a scary first-quarter dive into the stands. He got back up, dusted himself off, and went immediately back to work.
With a puffy right elbow, Curry put on the type of shooting clinic he’s become famously known for worldwide.
“The elbow’s fine,” he said. “It looks like it has a tennis ball on top of it. I should be all right.”
With his tennis ball elbow, Curry proceeded to score 15 points in less than two minutes during one point of the third quarter in the Warriors decisive 118-91 victory over the Thunder in Game 2 on Wednesday night. The victory evens the series at a game a piece as the two teams head east to Oklahoma City.
“Business as usual. This is what he does,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said of Curry’s onslaught. “I feel great joy. It’s true.”
Curry ended the contest with 28 points, making 5 of 8 from beyond the arc and shot 9-for-15 overall. Klay Thompson added 15 points of his own. The victory was exactly the type of response he and his teammates were looking for after a Game 1 defeat which represented just their third home loss all season.
“We responded all year long, whether it was a bad loss or a sloppy win,” Thompson said. “We come back sharp the next game, and it’s a testament to everybody on this team.”
Reigning Finals MVP Andre Iguodala got off to a slow start, missing his first five shots of the game. However, he ended the game with 14 points. Festus Ezeli scored 12 points, recording his first double digit scoring performance of these playoffs. Marreese Speights provided an additional 13 points off the bench.
Kevin Durant dropped 29 points in the game, but was shut down during the second half, where he scored just six points. Russell Westbrook recorded 16 points for the Thunder in the losing effort, and added another 12 assists. The Thunder were outrebounded in the contest, the first time such a thing has happened in the five meetings between the two teams all season.
“They were sending three guys. I was trying to make the right pass,” Durant said. “Maybe I’ve just got to shoot over three people.”
“They were certainly very, very lively on both ends of the floor,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “We let Curry get loose a few times.”
