Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs: Game 2 Postgame Grades and Analysis

Each second-round series is now tied up 1-1, thanks to the Golden State Warriors and their impressive 100-91 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2.

The Spurs, who gave up just 96.6 points per game in the regular season, gave up 62 first-half points to the Warriors, with 29 of them coming from Klay Thompson.

If it wasn't for Tim Duncan and Tony Parker's combined 30 point in the first half, the refs may have called this one early because no one else on the Spurs' roster came to play.

In the first half alone, the Spurs went 0-of-7 from deep, as compared to the Warriors who shot 9-of-16 from beyond the arc—led by Thompson's pure 7-of-8 first-half performance from three land.

The Spurs cut the Warriors' lead to just six points at one point in the fourth quarter, but unlike Game 1, Steph Curry and Co. always had an answer.

Tony Parker and Tim Duncan combined for just 13 points in the second half, and their lack of production hurt the Spurs down the stretch when they needed someone to step up.

Klay Thompson and Steph Curry led the way with 56 of the Warriors' 100 points, albeit on 20-of-46 shooting from the field. 

It would be amazing to see the Warriors put together a complete game in this series, because for at least half of each game played, they've looked like the better and more dominant team.

Game 3 tips off Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, and it's sure to be one for the ages.

Point Guards

Stephen Curry, PG, Warriors

After 11 points in the first quarter, Steph Curry was held to just two in the second, but the Spurs paid for their defensive focus on Curry.

It allowed Klay Thompson to go off for 29 first-half points on 7-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.

Curry ended the night with a quiet 22 points, four assists and four rebounds. And he shot just 7-of-20 from the field. 

His 35 percent shooting didn't matter, though, as he hit clutch shots down the stretch, including the final five points for the Warriors that sealed the game after the Spurs had cut their lead to just six with 4:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.

It's encouraging to see the Warriors win without a dominant performance from Curry. 

Overall Grade: B

Tony Parker, PG, Spurs 

Tony Parker just couldn't will the Spurs to victory this time around, even with 20 points. And that's mainly because he shot just 7-of-17 from the field.

The Warriors defense held Parker to just three assists and forced him into committing three turnovers, for a rather low 1:1 turnover/assist ratio. 

Defensively speaking, Parker hung with the Warriors perimeter offense better than in Game 1, but his five fouls forced him to play off the Warriors more than he would've liked.

The Spurs, who were the NBA's top assist team in the regular season, need Parker to be more of a facilitator in the upcoming games on the road. If he's not, they're not going to be able to beat Golden State.

Overall Grade: B-

Shooting Guards

Klay Thompson, SG, Warriors

I was waiting for Klay Thompson to do the "Jordan Shrug" after one of his seven three-pointers in the first half.

It never happened, but he was insane, with 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 shooting from deep in the first two quarters. 

While he scored just five points in the third quarter, he hit an absolutely huge three-pointer that pushed the Warriors' lead back to double digits at 11 points. That shot swung all the momentum back in the Warriors' direction. 

Thompson ended the night with just five points in the second half, but he had 34 points—a new career high for Thompson—14 rebounds and three steals. 

He put together the best performance of his young career at just the right time, including 50 percent shooting from the field and 8-of-9 shooting from deep.

Overall Grade: A

Danny Green, SG, Spurs 

While Danny Green didn't have his usual efficiency, he did score eight points in the third quarter that helped cut the Warriors' lead to just eight points at one point.

Green dropped 10 points—all in the second half—but he shot 4-of-12 from the field and 2-of-6 from three-point land. 

Just as I said after Game 1, the Spurs need Green to be much more efficient, because if he's going to put up double-digit shots and only make 33 percent of them, the Spurs can't survive.

Green ended the night with 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block, but defensively speaking, he wasn't the force against Curry and Thompson that the Spurs needed him to be. 

Overall Grade: C

Small Forward

Harrison Barnes, SF, Warriors

In the third quarter, when Klay Thompson and Steph Curry forgot how to score, Harrison Barnes stepped up and scored six points and forced two turnovers, which helped keep the Spurs at bay. 

He ended the night with 13 points, three rebounds and two steals, but he did shoot 5-of-14 from the field. 

Luckily, a majority of Barnes' made shots were big ones that slowed the Spurs down in the second half and cut into the runs they made.

The best part of Barnes' effort was on the defensive side of the ball, which included solid help-side defense in the paint. His defense played a major role in allowing just 40 points in the paint to the Spurs.

Overall Grade: B-

Kawhi Leonard, SF, Spurs 

Kawhi Leonard flew down the lane with 3:30 left in the third quarter and threw down a left-handed slam on a pass from Tony Parker that made the Spurs fans forget that they were still down by 17 points.

That dunk ignited a mini Spurs run that cut the Warriors' lead to just 11 at the end of the third quarter.

Once again, Leonard had a complete effort with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds (seven offensive). He also recorded two steals and two blocks, which led to easy offense for the Spurs just when they needed it.

The Spurs need to learn something from Leonard's opportunistic and energetic performance, because most of the time, he's the only member of the Spurs playing with heart and intensity. 

Overall Grade: B

Power Forwards

Draymond Green, SF/PF, Warriors

With the Spurs surging back in the fourth quarter, down just six points, Draymond Green hit the biggest three-pointer of his young NBA career. 

With 6:39 in the fourth, Green stepped back and hit a three-pointer that stopped a big Spurs run and ultimately kept the Warriors ahead.

Aside from that, though, Green didn't do much offensively with five points on 2-of-8 shooting. He did, however, dish out five assists and grab seven rebounds (two offensive), which were difference-makers in Game 2.

Green's presence was also felt on the defensive side of the ball, as he contested shots and took charges at just the right times.  

Overall Grade: B-

Matt Bonner, PF, Spurs 

Where was Matt Bonner all game long?

In 16 minutes, Bonner dropped a whopping two points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out one assist. 

If the Spurs are going to play him over 10 minutes, Bonner needs to be a deep threat, and he wasn't anything close to that in Game 2—shooting just 0-of-1 from deep.

The Spurs were 5-of-21 from beyond the arc, and they can't beat the Warriors shooting at that level. Bonner's shooting fits in right there, and he needs to improve on that in Game 3 and beyond. 

Overall Grade: F

Centers

Andrew Bogut, C, Warriors

What happened to Andrew Bogut's offensive touch? He ended Game 2 with just six points, but he only put up three field goals. 

It appears that Bogut's transitioned from an offensive weapon to being an opportunistic post presence, and honestly, that is working for him.

Defensively speaking, Bogut was a monster. He contested nearly every shot in the paint, and he owned the glass with 11 rebounds. While a lot of his defensive tenacity won't show up on the stat sheet, without him in the paint the Warriors couldn't have won. 

Solid performance for Bogut, and if his defense remains at the high level it was in Game 2, the odds of the Warriors heading to the Western Conference Finals are in their favor. 

Overall Grade: B

Tim Duncan, C, Spurs

Without Tim Duncan's solid first-half performance, with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, the Spurs would've been down by 25 or more at the half.

Unfortunately, Duncan added just six points on 3-of-8 shooting in the second half, when the Spurs needed him to take over and help them finish off their multiple runs.

He also grabbed nine rebounds and shot 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.

Moving forward, Duncan needs to be more aggressive at getting to the line and getting Andrew Bogut in foul trouble, because Bogut's defense was what shut him down in the second half.

The Spurs' runs in the third and fourth quarters usually came when Bogut was on the bench, and that's where Duncan's focus needs to be in Game 3 so the Spurs don't get down 2-1.

Overall Grade: B-

Sixth Man

Jarrett Jack, PG, Warriors

There's no doubt that Jarrett Jack puts up some questionable, questionable shots. But he's starting to make those shots on a consistent basis.

He ended Game 2 with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, with four of those points coming in the fourth quarter at times when the Spurs were threatening to take over. 

Jack's fadeaway mid-range jumper became a death stroke, and there was just nothing the Spurs could do about it.

Solid performance in the clutch by Jack, as he added four assists alongside his eight points.

Overall Grade: B+

Manu Ginobili, SG, Spurs 

Remember when Gregg Popovich joked about wanting to "trade Manu Ginobili" after his shot selection in the clutch in Game 1?

Well, Popovich may want to revisit that place, because Ginobili wasn't anywhere near productive in Game 2. 

In the first half, he had four points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 shooting from deep. 

While he made a few big shots in the second half during the Spurs' runs, ultimately Ginobili ended the night with more questionable shots than quality ones.

He ended the night with 12 points, four assists and three rebounds, but he shot just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc and 5-of-12 from the field. Ginobili has to step his game up before Popovich gets sick of his inefficient production.

Overall Grade: C-

Benches

Warriors Bench

The Warriors bench was dominant in Game 2, accounting for 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. 

Their second unit also grabbed 11 combined rebounds and dished out four assists, which helped solidify the Warriors' lead throughout the game.

Carl Landry had a complete performance with 10 points and eight rebounds (four offensive) in just 14 minutes of action, and yet he ended the night with a minus-one in the plus/minus category. 

Either way, the Warriors bench was a real difference-maker in Game 2.

Overall Grade: A+

Spurs Bench 

The Spurs bench was the complete opposite of the Warriors. 

They were inefficient, ending the night just 9-of-26 from the field, with 25 points overall.

Manu Ginobili and Gary Neal, the Spurs' two biggest bench contributors, combined for 18 points on 7-of-21 shooting, and that just didn't cut it. 

The Spurs need more efficient and more productive minutes from their bench players, and if that doesn't happen, this series could slip away from the Spurs rather quickly. 

Overall Grade: D+