SAN FRANCISCO â The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals, evening up the series at 1-1. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 29 points, all of which were scored in the first three quarters of the game. It was Draymond Green, however, who will undoubtedly make headlines after he mentioned Kevin Durant in his postgame press conference.
Green had a relatively quiet statistical line in 35 minutes â nine points, five rebounds, seven assists â but made his impact felt as the team's emotional leader in the series' second game. The Warriors smoked the Celtics, leading by as many 29 points in what was a bounce-back, blowout victory for the Dubs.
For most of the game, however, Warriors scorers not named Stephen Curry struggled to get the ball in the basket. Klay Thompson finished shooting just 4-of-19 from the field while Andrew Wiggins shot 4-of-12. It was a monster third quarter for Curry, who scored 14 of the Warriors' 35 points and matched Boston's 14 points as a team in the quarter.
Through two games of the NBA Finals, the Warriors shot 44 percent in Game 1 and 45 percent in Game 2. Not terrible by any means, but also not as good as they can be. A lot of credit is owed to the Celtics, who have made life tough on Curry and the Dubs so far.
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After the game, Draymond Green spoke with members of the media and was asked about the Warriorsâ offense this season in comparison to the last few championship seasons. Here's how it appeared on social media, with Draymond Green seemingly name-dropping Kevin Durant out of the blue to prop up Steph:
âWhen KD was here, our offense still started with Steph. Thatâs the way itâs always going to be.â
Dray on Steph being the focal point of the Warriors offense đ pic.twitter.com/0fd5VGDDZQ
â Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 6, 2022
"When KD was here our offense still started with Steph."
Draymond spoke about the Warriorsâ offense after Game 2. pic.twitter.com/V8Spq703lu
â SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 6, 2022
"When KD was here, our offense still started with Steph."
Draymond says Steph is, and has always been, the key to the Dubs' offense pic.twitter.com/m8ssfKTCpU
â Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) June 6, 2022
"It all starts with Steph [Curry]. When KD was here, our offense still started with Steph."
â Draymond Green on the Warriors' offense from past runs to now
đĽ @NBCSWarriors pic.twitter.com/uWUMYzU1Ht
â The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 6, 2022
âIt all starts with Steph. When KD was here, our offense still started with Steph. Thatâs the way itâs going to be.â â Draymond Green pic.twitter.com/KSFMIbOQh8
â 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) June 6, 2022
Draymond Green: "When KD was here, our offense still started with Steph. That's the way it's always going to be."
â Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) June 6, 2022
Draymond Green: âWhen KD was here our offense still revolved around Steph.â
â đ Brandon âScoop Bâ Robinson (@ScoopB) June 6, 2022
Kevin Durant and Draymond Green have gone back and forth on social media, they've gone back and forth through the media, and they even went at it on a face-to-face podcast. It sure seems like another moment where Green took a shot at Durant.
That is, until you hear the question leading up to Draymond Green's answer.
Reporter: âDraymond, in your past Finals runs, you guys always had a lot of proven firepower around Steph, whether it was KD [Kevin Durant] or Klay [Thompson] in the past. Feels like this is a little bit different, at least through the first couple games, a lot of Steph and trying to find where the rest of that offense comes from. Are you guys feeling that? Is this going to have to be done a different way?â
Draymond Green: âI think our offense is always a lot of Steph. It all starts with Steph, whether â you know, when KD was here, our offense still started with Steph. That's the way it's going to be.
âI think when you're playing against a team like that, you have to get offense from other places and not just Steph. I think for the most part, we did a pretty good job of that. You know, Klay, what, 4-for-19, had a tough one, but that happens. We know he'll make shots as this series continues to go on.
Article Continues BelowâBut we didn't turn the ball over, and I thought that was very important in this game is keeping them out of transition and making them play against our defense.â
Draymond Green was specifically asked about Kevin Durant & the firepower the Warriors put around Steph Curry in the past. His response:
"It all starts with Steph. When KD was here, our offense still started with Steph. That's the way it's going to be."pic.twitter.com/KV7u28SN6k
â Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) June 6, 2022
That tells a slightly different story, doesn't it? Green was specifically asked about Durant, and how the Warriors have been able to run their offense through Curry while surrounding him with the likes of Durant, Thompson, and other shooters:
Lol this video specifically starts *RIGHT* after the Kevin Durant mention in the question. So you know whatâs gonna happen over the next few days.
Draymond didnât bring KD up by himself, he was asked about him. https://t.co/NV7rdaDrJ4
â Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) June 6, 2022
In reality, nothing Green said was wrong. The Warriors have always run their offense through Stephen Curry simply off of his gravity. That's part of the reason why the Warriors were so successful both with and without Kevin Durant.
During the regular season, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, who coached against Curry, Durant, and the Warriors in the NBA Finals from 2016-2018, repeatedly said Curry is the most dangerous player on the court, even if it's being shared with Durant and Thompson. It's not a slight at anyone, but it is a lot of praise for Curry.
âHe's so dangerous, probably the most dangerous player in the league the way he can get hot and score the basketball. We gotta make him work on both ends. Try to get him in foul trouble, try to wear him down. Try to hit him as much as possible. You're dealing with a two-time MVP, someone I have great respect for. You just gotta keep him involved and try to keep wearing him down. You gotta remember, in 2017 and 2018, we blitzed him with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson on the floor. That's how dangerous I think he is.â
"He's so dangerous, probably the most dangerous player in the league the way he can get hot⌠In 2017 and 2018m we blitzed him with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson on the floor. That's how dangerous I think he is."
Ty Lue on Warriors' Stephen Curry. #Clippers pic.twitter.com/KKl46FAKzC
â Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 15, 2022
The NBA Finals will now see two days off on Monday and Tuesday as the series shifts to Boston for Games 3 and 4. Maybe Kevin Durant will take the bait and get into another tweeting war over out-of-context social media quotes from Draymond Green. That would take care of talk show talking points on Monday, or perhaps Tuesday. Who knows, maybe Durant will see the full context behind Green's comments and just move on with his day.
Heck, even Kevin Durant called Steph Curry the head of the snake for the Warriors when he was here. See for yourself:
Kevin Durant on Steph Curry: "He's the head of the snake. We kind of feed off his energy and his scoring." pic.twitter.com/HORoVACQSR
â Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 13, 2017
Stay tuned. Game 3 is on Wednesday in Boston.