Getty Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Thursday’s Game 2 between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers will essentially be a must-win for the home squad. Golden State dropped a tightly-contested Game 1 on Tuesday and can’t afford to head out on the road down 0-2.
Lakers star Anthony Davis understands that the Dubs will be hungry and ready to fight for their playoff lives. He spoke with the media on Wednesday, predicting that Stephen Curry will rally the Warriors and get his team playing at a higher level for Game 2.
“As long as he’s on the other side, it’s never over…He’s the head of the snake and when he’s playing unbelievable basketball, which he’s more than capable of doing every night, their team just never goes away,” Davis said via NBC Sports Bay Area. “So it goes back to us having to be ultra-dialed in and locked in for Game 2, knowing that he’s going to come out firing. Klay [Thompson], all of those guys are going to play better. Team’s going to play better, the crowd’s going to be even louder. So, as long as Steph’s on the other side, on the other team, he’ll always give his team a chance to win.”
“As long as he’s on the other side, it’s never over.”
AD addresses what he has learned during his playoff battles with Steph
Curry had an off shooting night on Tuesday, knocking down just 10 of his 24 attempts from the field for 27 points. He’ll likely come out for Game 2 with a chip on his shoulder, looking to light up L.A. and help his team earn the all-important win.
No team wants to leave their first home-stint in a playoff series down 0-2, especially the Warriors, who struggled away from Chase Center all season. Golden State won just 8-of-41 regular-season road games. However, they did manage to buckle down and secure victories in both Games 5 and 7 at Golden 1 Center against the Sacramento Kings in the first round.
Stephen Curry Wants Warriors to Keep Lakers Off the Free-Throw Line
Like Davis said, Curry and the Warriors will be looking to improve in Game 2. Golden State’s No. 30 said so himself, following the Game 1 loss.
Curry challenged the Dubs to be better defensively and limit the amount of free throws for the Lakers, who shot 23 more than Golden State did in Game 1.
“AD is going to put pressure on you all game, so you’d like to not let him get eight off, that might not kill you,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “It’s more the other guys, the ball handlers. [Dennis] Schroder gets 10 free throws. That can’t happen. Whether we think its a foul or not we can’t put ourselves in that situation. That’s how he makes an impact because he is super quick, you know, in his first step. We do have a certain strategy around him, but you can’t let him get to the line 10 times, that’s a killer. We’ll make those adjustments. Understand again, it was a quick turnaround from Game 7 against Sac [Sacramento Kings]. We’ll be locking in on what the Lakers do well and our confidence is high that we can bounce back.”
Stephen Curry Knew Lakers Would be ‘Huge Test’ for Warriors
Though the Game 1 defeat was a frustrating one, Curry didn’t expect the second-round meeting with L.A. to be easy.
When discussing the series prior to the opening game, he called the Lakers a “huge test” for the Warriors.
“They’re playing unbelievable. All the pieces fit. It’s going to be a huge test for us,” Curry explained via House of Highlights on YouTube.