The Golden State Warriors escaped Oracle Arena with a 114-111 victory on Thursday night, as they take a 2-0 lead to Portland in the Western Conference Finals.
Once again, it was Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson who handled a bulk of the work on the offensive end of the floor. The Splash Brothers combined for 61 points, but it was some key defensive plays that truly helped secure the Game 2 victory. Most notably, Andre Iguodala's strip of Damian Lillard in the final seconds and Draymond Green's game-high five blocks throughout the night.
During a recent interview with The Athletic's Marcus Thompson, Iguodala drew an interesting comparison between Carmelo Anthony's offensive prowess and the way Draymond is on the defensive end.
Per Marcus Thompson:
"When people ask me who is one of the toughest players to defend, and I say Melo, they're always like 'Really?' Iguodala said.
"Maaaan, Melo - he was a fast fat dude with hops. And can shoot. When he hit you with that first step, it was so quick, and then he's strong. People need to stop disrespecting Melo. And Draymond is the Melo of defense.”
In addition to his five blocks, Draymond also chipped in 16 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists on Thursday night. According to ESPN, Klay Thompson told reporters after the win, "Draymond's been special all playoffs... When he goes, we go. He was tremendous tonight."
The series now shifts to Portland for Games 3 and 4. Game 3, airing on ESPN, is set to tipoff at 9:00pm ET this Saturday.