"Tweet! Tweet!" With the crisp, piercing whistle cutting through the air above the court, Game 2 of the Finals finally got underway!
In an instant, the entire Oracle Arena seemed to ignite as the cheers and roars of the crowd thundered toward the rafters.
From the opening tip, both teams quickly settled into the game, raising their defensive intensity significantly compared with Game 1 of the series.
Players on both sides clung to their opponents like starving tigers pouncing on prey, giving them no room to breathe.
The referees seemed rather appreciative of such fierce physical play and did not blow their whistles often, allowing the defenses on both sides to grow even more ferocious.
However, such high-intensity defense came with a side effect—the shooting percentages of both teams plummeted.
After an entire quarter, the score was somehow locked at just 18-18.
Still, one particularly dramatic scene unfolded in the quarter: the Boston Celtics actually used a three-man rotation to defend Stephen Curry!
In other words, each player was responsible for guarding Curry for roughly four minutes.
Although Stephen Curry used his outstanding individual ability to seize a few shooting opportunities during that stretch, fortunately, his touch was only average tonight.
Coach Jack was clearly quite satisfied with the Celtics' rotating defensive scheme.
Not only had it successfully contained Stephen Curry, their powerful scoring threat, it also allowed Tony Allen, their primary defender, to conserve his stamina.
After all, if Tony Allen had been made to chase Stephen Curry all over the court for the entire game, his energy would likely have been drained quickly, just as it had in the previous game.
In the blink of an eye, the buzzer sounded to begin the second quarter, and the atmosphere in the arena grew tense and electric.
Both teams moved