Three takeaways from Warriors' Game 2 win over Raptors
The Golden State Warriors topped the Toronto Raptors 109-104 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, evening the series at 1-1.
The Warriors' win did not come easy, but now they have a chance to take control at Oracle Arena on Wednesday.
Here are three takeaways from Golden State's crucial victory.
The Warriors are sharing the ball
Golden State doubled Toronto's assist output, totalling 34 to the Raptors' 17.
Four different Warriors recorded at least five assists in Sunday's contest. Draymond Green was just one assist away from notching his second consecutive triple-double of the championship series.
Injuries to Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney could make ball movement like this even more important for Golden State.
#StrengthInNumbers @Money23Green (17p/10r/9a) & @boogiecousins (11p/10r/6a) walk off with 109-104 Game 2 victory! #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/2He1QpCGPs
— NBA (@NBA) June 3, 2019
DeMarcus Cousins can be a positive
Entering the series, there were doubts Cousins could help the Warriors trend in the right direction.
The four-time All-Star had not played since tearing his quad in the first round of the playoffs as the NBA Finals approached. He logged just eight minutes in Game 1 and only managed to score three points.
However, Cousins unexpectedly tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in 28 minutes in Game 2. This is likely because of the injury to Looney, and he made the most of his opportunity. While he struggled with foul trouble early, he proved he can take on a heavier workload moving forward and not be too much of a defensive liability.
@boogiecousins sparks the @warriors with 11 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST in his first start of the series! #StrengthInNumbers #NBAFinals
— NBA (@NBA) June 3, 2019
Game 3: Wednesday (6/5), 9:00pm/et, ABC & Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/qRB7546ywT
Toronto owned the offensive glass
While the Raptors blew their opportunity to go up 2-0 against the Warriors, they had plenty of chances to recover from their blunders.
Toronto totalled 15 offensive rebounds to Golden State's six, and quite a few came in critical moments down the stretch. Kawhi Leonard came up with five himself.
Bounces did not go the right way for the Raptors this time, but capitalising on second-chance opportunities could play a big part in how the series ends.