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The Golden State Warriors rolled out an all-around excellent performance on Sunday evening to defeated the tired and tested Cleveland Cavaliers 122-103 for a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals. Steph Curry set an NBA record for three-pointers hit in a Finals game, with nine in total. He eclipsed Ray Allen's old record of 8 three's from 2010 in the Celtic's series instant-classic with the Lakers. It's another impressive stat on Curry's resume in regard to shooting, but are any of us really surprised he was the one to do it?
Golden State's stars showed up big-time on both ends of the floor. Steph Curry led them all in Game 2 (33 points, 7 rebounds, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 11/26 from field, 9/17 from three) while Klay Thompson (20 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) and Kevin Durant (26 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists 2 blocks) turned in nice performances as well. Draymond Green was his usual do-it-all self (5 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists), but Shaun Livingston (10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist) and JaVale McGee (12 points, 2 rebounds, 6/6 from the field) pitched in some quality minutes too
Golden State set the tone for their impressive performance in a well-rounded first quarter. Steve Kerr called upon JaVale McGee to start at center. They were making some nice off-ball cuts as a team that somehow led to about five wide-open layups or dunks at the rim. Golden State hit their first seven baskets in a row to make it a 15-6 game before Cleveland called a timeout with 8:47 remaining in the first quarter.
After that timeout, the Cavs started settling into their defense as Golden State got a little complacent on offense. After the Cavs made a mini-run, the Warriors called a timeout to kill their momentum. Golden State came out of it looking to get shots off from three-point land which led to some modest success, but they decided to get back into that attack-the-basket mode that gave them so much success in the first. But LeBron came alive and started muscling his way to the rim himself. The first buzzer sounded and the Warriors went into the second quarter with only a four-point lead, 32-28.
Golden State came out driving and firing in the second quarter, and jumped ahead to a 9-point lead, 39-30, thanks to some Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant buckets. The Cavs cut it back down to a four-point lead, but Golden state pushed it back to 11, 47-36, off some quality bench play from Shaun Livingston as well as several jumpers from the Splash Bros. plus KD.
For the rest of the second quarter, the Warriors kept the Cavs at bay and walked into the locker room with a 13-point lead, 59-46. They were moving the ball like they did all season and already had 18 assists in the first half. Steph Curry had 16-5-6 with a steal and Durant pitched in 13-3-4 with a block. This was the best first half they'd played since they blew out the Rockets by 41 in Game 3.
The third quarter was underway, and the Warriors came out uncharacteristically flat to start the quarter that they're known for being unbeatable in. Golden State was shooting OK, but the Cavs had a little more hustle in their play which reduced the home team lead to 6, 72-66 with six minutes to go. Part of it was the Cavs moving the ball with poise near the rim, but the Warriors were also leaving Cleveland's shooters wide open. Particularly Kevin Love. Golden States shooting brigade woke up in response and managed to take back a ten-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, 90-80.
LeBron sat out the start of the fourth quarter, and he looked absolutely dead from exhaustion when the TV cameras panned back to him on the bench. He also boasted a red eye from being poked by Draymond late in Game 1. Golden State took advantage of his absence by going back up by thirteen, 100-87. Kevin Durant's passing was great all throughout the game, but he managed to find the seldom-used David West open for a three-ball to the delight of the Oakland crowd. KD was also shooting at a much-improved clip compared to Game 1 (8/22), going 9/12 from the field with about six minutes left in the game.
Steph Curry hit an and-1 three-pointer from the baseline, and that sent Oracle Arena up into a drunken stupor. That play made it feel like Golden State had this thing in the bag. They were up 111-93 with a little less than 5 minutes remaining and they were going against an exhausted LeBron. Tyrone Lue threw in the towel and sent in the bench mob with 4:45 to go as they were down 18. The camera followed LeBron as he took his seat and it looked like he was chewing Coach Ty Lue out as he was relegated to the position of a spectator in the fourth quarter. He probably thought this is the NBA Finals, why the hell are you taking me out when there's still a chance? Ty Lue likely made the executive decision to conserve LeBron's for energy for Game 3 back in Cleveland. The outcome was already decided, but the score ended at 122-103 when the final buzzer rang.
The Warriors came into Oracle Arena and took care of business with ease on Sunday eve. Cleveland was too depleted to put up a fight. They'll just need to go into Cleveland on Wednesday evening for Game 3 and do exactly what they did tonight. A sweep or 5-game-long series is looking even more inevitable in this lopsided NBA Finals matchup. Cleveland is going to be pumped up beyond compare defending their home turf, and determined not to go into a 3-0 hole against one of the best teams ever to take a court. The Cavaliers might just be out of luck because as each day passes Andre Iguodala gets a little closer to his hardwood return, and Thanos will regain possession of all the Infinity Stones if that happens.
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