The Warriors showed the heart of champions to forget about their physical ailments.
Klay Thompson scored 25 points before leaving with injury, and Golden State beat the Toronto Raptors 109-104 to tie the NBA Finals at one win per team.
Stephen Curry contributed 23 points to the Warriors cause, who scored the first 18 points of the second half to head to victory.
“When we get to this stage, we show our DNA,” Curry stressed.
Golden State, which already lacks Kevin Durant, also lost Thompson in the fourth quarter of the game. However, the Warriors knew how to get ahead.
“It was a great victory. We have to go home and protect our home court advantage. We’ll see what happens with the injuries, “said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “But I am very proud of our team and in particular of those on the bench.”
Andre Iguodala, who had also suffered a spectacular knockdown in the first half, hit the triple to secure the win with 5.9 seconds to go, after the Raptors scored 10 unanswered points to get closer to 106-104.
Kawhi Leonard had 34 points and 14 rebounds for Toronto, which had won five straight games since trailing 2-0 in the Eastern Conference final.
The third engagement is scheduled for Wednesday night in Oakland.
Curry seemed to have some discomfort in the first half as well. He returned to the locker room in the middle of a streak in which he missed six consecutive shots early in the game.
But the Warriors managed to close the second quarter well enough for the score to stay tight. And they came back from the break with one of those tremendous displays that have characterized them in the third periods during their five consecutive appearances in the League Final.
“We didn’t play well enough in the third quarter. We missed too many shots, “acknowledged Toronto guard Kyle Lowry. “They surprised us in the transition and gained confidence. There we lost the game ”.
DeMarcus Cousins entered the starting lineup and contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Draymond Green added 17 units, 10 balls caught off the boards and nine passes for shooting.
He fell within one assist of what would have been his fourth consecutive triple-double. AP