Final Score: Shorthanded Warriors shock Raptors 109-104 in Game 2

The Golden State Warriors had their gutsiest win of the season, coming back from a double digit deficit and multiple injuries to rip Game 2 on the road from the Toronto Raptors, 109-104.

Steph Curry was sick, Klay Thompson left with a hamstring injury, and Kevon Looney suffered a nasty fall. It didn’t matter.

Thompson led the Warriors with 25 points, while his fellow Splash Bro Curry scored 23. Draymond Green had a strong showing with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. DeMarcus Cousins was monstrous as the starting center for the Dubs, tallying a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks.

Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors with 34 points, and the magic man from the previous game Pascal Siakim was harassed into 5-of-18 shooting from the field and 12 points.

First Half

Both teams played with high energy and defensive aggression to start the matchup. The Warriors used it to their advantage, getting to the free throw line and converting 10 of 13 attempts.

The second quarter saw the momentum swing wholly Toronto’s way. Their defense? Stingy: at one point the Dubs were shooting 28% from the field! Their scheme was to trap the heck out of Curry or Klay Thompson and gamble on rotating in coverage to the Warriors’ “others”.

And minus a brief 7-point scoring burst from a foul plagued DeMarcus Cousins, the Raptors’ strategy was working like a charm.

And yet...the Warriors found a way to hang around, as Curry began to thirst for blood, scoring 12 points in the period.

Thompson led the Warriors with 18 points while Curry scored 16 heading into the half. Despite shooting only 40% the champs were very much alive in the hostile environment.

Raptors 59, Warriors 54

Second Half

The news out of halftime was that Kevon Looney suffered an injury on a tough fall.

Don’t they know the Warriors love third quarters?

To start the third period DeMarcus Cousins TOOK OVER THE GAME, keying an 18-0 run with his brilliant passing and strong presence down low. The Toronto crowd went into a stunned hush with each brick and turnover the Raptors coughed up against the Warriors vicious defense.

Quinn Cook and Cousins kept the Warriors afloat early in the fourth, pushing the lead to 98-88.

Thompson stopped running though, the result of a bump from Danny Green on a three-point attempt a few posesssions earlier. He limped out of the game and went directly into the locker room. How many bodies do the Warriors have left?

But the Warriors still flexed their usual third quarter swag.

The Raptors began playing a Box-And-1 defense, a zone designed to force everyone to shoot threes except Curry, who they chased constantly with multiple bodies. Toronto wore down the lead and pulled within two points with 26 seconds left.

That set the stage for a former Finals MVP to do what he does best: dominate in the clutch.

#DAGGER

Our boys are coming home to Oakland with a 1-1 split folks. For everyone who fretted about the Raptors having a better regular season and having home court for the Finals: why work 82 games for HCA when you can take it in 1?

#STRENGTHINNUMBERS