Celtics vs. Warriors: Three critical things to watch in Game 2 Sunday

SAN FRANCISCO — Of the 16 times the home team lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 14 times they bounced back and won Game 2.

However, the two times the home team lost Game 2, they did not bounce back to win the series.

Which is why, even though they seemed loose at practice on Saturday, the Warriors admitted they need to play with more desperation in Game 2 Sunday night (8 p.m. ET on ABC).

“We played about 40 great minutes, which will not get it done at this point in the season,” Klay Thompson said. “We are going to play with desperation tomorrow, and I think that’s when we are at our best.”

Here are three things that will be critical in deciding Game 2.

It may seem counterintuitive, but you can blame the Warriors’ defense for a large part of their offensive struggles in the fourth quarter of Game 1, scoring just 16 points.

With Boston’s hot shooters setting the tone, seemingly every trip down the court Golden State was taking the ball out of the basket and then having to go against a set Celtics’ defense. No team is scoring consistently against this Boston defense when it gets set. The Warriors’ offense thrives when they get stops or force turnovers, then push the pace and get the opposing team scrambling and in chaos. There wasn’t enough of that.

The Warriors need to up the pace in Game 2 — they need to get more stops, then they need to hit their shots in transition. Golden State shot 4-of-9 on its fast break opportunities in Game 1 (using the NBA’s conservative selection of fast break shots). Cleaning the Glass said the Warriors had a 114.3 offensive rating in transition in Game 1, which for context would have been the worst in the league over the course of the regular season.

Tied to that, the Warriors need to finish