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The Golden State Warriors finally awoke from their slumber to steal Game 2 of the NBA Finals from right under the Toronto Raptors' nose.
Powered by an incredible 18-0 run, the Warriors blitzed the Raptors early in the third quarter, eventually running out 109-104 winners to level the series heading back to Oakland.
While the Raptors will be ruing missed opportunities and a failure to put the short-handed Warriors to the sword down the stretch, the Warriors will be thanking their lucky stars that they are not staring down the barrel of a 2-0 deficit.
Game 2 MVP: Klay Thompson
Stat line: 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 10-of-17 shooting, 4-of-6 from 3-point range
Klay Thompson might have limped off injured during the fourth quarter of the Warriors' victory, however, during his 32-minute spell on the court, Thompson sparkled.
Thompson led the Warriors in scoring, pouring in 25 points on an extremely efficient 10-of-17 display from the field. He connected with 4 of his 6 attempts from downtown, scoring 18 of his points in the first half and keeping the Warriors in striking distance.
With Steph Curry coming out cold - he missed his first 6 shots, DeMarcus Cousins looking rusty and Andre Iguodala forced out of the game early, the onus was on Thompson to help the Warriors keep pace with a freely scoring Toronto riding a wave of momentum.
And that's exactly what Thompson did. He scored the Warriors' first 9 points and led all scorers at the half with 18.
Stifling defense on Kawhi Leonard in the third quarter in addition to a couple of made buckets played an integral role in the Warriors' 18-0 run to open the quarter, vaporizing the Raptors' 5-point half-time lead.
That earned the Warriors enough of a cushion to stay ahead even when they lost Thompson to a hamstring injury early in the fourth quarter.
Klay ended the game with a +/- of +12 and even had time to mouth off at Drake and the Raptors' bench to cap off an incredible performance.
Other notable performances
Steph Curry - 23 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 8-of-9 FTs
Kawhi Leonard - 34 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists
Draymond Green - 17 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 6-of-12 shooting
