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"Only one team in this series can crank up their defense enough to win them games.
The Warriors? offense feeds off that stingy defense ? with or without Stephen Curry in the lineup, again Tuesday it was without ? and the combination can lead to big runs.
Such as a 34-12 fourth quarter. It was historic, as our own Dan Feldman pointed out on twitter.
Golden State trailed by 17 at one point but came on in the fourth with a defensive energy that held Damian Lillard to 0-of-3 shooting and his entire Portland team to 26.5 percent shooting. Those miss shots fueled transition buckets and opportunities ? Klay Thompson had 10 of his 27 points on the night in the fourth ? and the Warriors roared back for a 110-99 victory.
Golden State now leads the series 2-0 as it heads to Portland, with Game 3 not until Saturday. The biggest question is whether Curry will play in that game, or will the Warriors use their position of strength to get him more rest (as they did in the Houston series up 2-0)?
The best player on the floor in Game 2 was Draymond Green, who finished with 17 points (on 20 shots), 14 rebound and seven assists. But that?s not where the damage he does starts ? it?s on defense. His ability to defend the five, then show out high on pick-and-rolls to cut off Lillard or C.J. McCollum and take away their shots from three. With Curry out, Green also spends a lot of time as the guy initiating the Warriors offense. He crashes the boards. He protects the paint, including a key block late on Mason Plumlee. Green did it all."
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