NEWS DESK
\nTORONTO
\nThe Golden State Warriors relied on a champion\u2019s heart to overcome their weary bodies.
\nKlay Thompson scored 25 points before leaving with a hamstring injury, Stephen Curry had 23 and the Warriors ran off the first 18 points of the second half on the way to a 109-104 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night that tied the NBA Finals at one game apiece.
\nWith Kevin Durant already out and Thompson eventually joining him in the fourth quarter, the Warriors don\u2019t feel great \u2014 but they would\u2019ve felt a whole lot worse flying home in a 2-0 hole.
\n\u201cIt was a great win. We got to go home and protect our home floor and we\u2019ll see about all the injuries,\u201d coach Steve Kerr said. \u201cBut I\u2019m very proud of our team and in particular all the guys off the bench.\u201d
\nAndre Iguodala, himself slow to get up after a hard fall in the first half, made the clinching 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left after the Raptors scored 10 straight points to cut it to 106-104.
\nKawhi Leonard had 34 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors. They had won five straight since falling behind 2-0 in the Eastern Conference finals.
\nCurry appeared to be laboring as well in the first half, returning to the locker room in the midst of six straight misses to start the game.
\nBut the Warriors cobbled together a good enough finish to the second quarter to keep it close, then stormed out of the locker room with one of their vintage third-quarter charges that have been so frequent during their run to five straight NBA Finals.
\nDeMarcus Cousins was inserted into the starting lineup and delivered 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Draymond Green had 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists \u2014 missing by one assist a fourth straight triple-double.
\nThe series moves to their Oracle Arena for Games 3 and 4, with the first NBA Finals to be played outside the US assured of returning to Canada for Game 5.
\nThe Warriors will hope to have enough healthy bodies to get through it. Thompson landed awkwardly after a 3-point attempt early in the fourth quarter and limped off soon after, with backup center Kevon Looney already missing the second half with a chest injury.
\nAnd Golden State is still without Durant, who missed his seventh straight game with a strained right calf but hopes to return during the series.
\nFor now, they got key contributions from Quinn Cook, who hit three 3-pointers, and veteran center Andrew Bogut, who wasn\u2019t even part of the roster most of the season but came off the bench for three baskets.
\nFred VanVleet scored 17 points for the Raptors, who had red T-shirts with their slogan \u201cWe The North\u201d hanging on seats around the arena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEWS DESK TORONTO The Golden State Warriors relied on a champion\u2019s heart to overcome their weary bodies. Klay Thompson scored 25 points before leaving with a hamstring injury, Stephen Curry had 23 and the Warriors ran off the first 18 points of the second half on the way to a 109-104 victory over the Toronto […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n