The Warriors found themselves in unfamiliar territory following their Game 1 NBA Finals loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Golden State never had lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals in the Steve Kerr era. With Kevin Durant still ailing, the Warriors had to find a way to win Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena and bring the series back to the Bay knotted at one.
The Raptors landed a few haymakers in Game 1, but Draymond Green and the Warriors were very confident in their ability to bounce back. Hours before the Warriors eked out a 109-104 win in Game 2, Green had a good feeling about his team's chances.
"We just had an opportunity to watch (the Raptors)," Green told The Athletic's Sam Amick. "And then at shoot-around, I could feel how everybody was locked in. It was like this awkward silence, where guys aren't really talking to each other. You can just see that everybody is locked in.
"We listened to music, for sure, (because) we're never going to change who we are. But you could just see a different focus. Obviously doing this as much as we've done, you know the difference (between) awkward silence where guys are locked in and awkward silence where guys are nervous. You know the difference. I knew we were locked in."
After watching film from Game 1, the Dubs believed the Raptors had played as good as they could possibly play.
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Via Amick:
They were all confident that the Raptors had delivered their toughest blow, with everyone from Pascal Siakam to Marc Gasol and Fred Van Vleet playing above their personal norms in the series opener. They had learned a few things about guarding the great Kawhi Leonard, with the small successes in that game serving as building blocks for the future plan.
Despite losing Klay Thompson (hamstring strain) and Kevon Looney (collarbone) during Games 2, the battle-tested Warriors erased an early double-digit deficit and held on to steal Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena.
[RELATED: Klay, Andre have shut down Kawhi better than anyone]
While they might be battered and bruised, the Warriors return to Oakland in control of the series, with their grip on a third straight Larry O'Brien Trophy starting to tighten.
