J.A. Adande, ESPN Senior Writer 10y

Curry's big breakthrough?

By the time Stephen Curry figured out a way to attack the swarming defense the Los Angeles Clippers threw at him it was too late to make a difference in Game 2. That doesn’t mean it’s too late to make a difference in this series.

The Clippers’ strategy is to make Curry into a passer by having a big man jump out on Curry whenever he attempts to come off a screen or make a foray into the lane. It helped keep him in check for the first six quarters of this series. But in the third quarter of Game 2 Curry managed to squirt between the two defenders and race toward the hoop, usually getting there before the defensive help could arrive. Aided by a couple of transition buckets, Curry scored 20 points in the quarter…although it wasn’t nearly enough to close the gap in what eventually was a 40-point Clipper victory.

It did provide a plan of attack heading into Game 3 Thursday night, when the Golden State Warriors hope the raucous crowd in Oracle Arena can help them gain the advantage in a series that’s tied at 1-1.

“Just continue to be aggressive, knowing that if they play the pick-and-roll a certain way, I’ve got to attack it and not have to settle for taking on that trap every single possession and forcing me to give it up,” Curry said. “I’ve got to be able to get around the big [man], be able to take the guard off the dribble, get into the paint and be able to make plays from there.”

Of course it would help if there were a second Curry, as in the Chris Paul/Cliff Paul commercial for State Farm running during this series that has the Paul twins come across a pair of identical Currys.

“That was done last summer,” Curry said. “I don’t know the whole decision-making process. I’m guessing it worked out pretty well for State Farm.”

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