© Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
OAKLAND — Game 1 provided such an unforgettable opening act that it seemed Game 2 was likely incapable of showing a worthy encore.
On Thursday night, LeBron James scored 51 points, a personal NBA Finals high, in a losing effort. The Cleveland Cavaliers played one of their best games of the postseason, only to see it crumble with untimely mistakes, from George Hill’s missed free throw to J.R. Smith’s late-game blunder. The question entering Thursday was whether the Cavs could replicate a similar performance after expending themselves so heavily in Game 1.
Sunday featured another competitive game, but the majority of it was played at Golden State’s pace and with a moderate lead. The Warriors defeated the Cavs 122-103 to extend their series lead to 2-0 heading to Cleveland.
This may have been Golden State’s most complete offensive game of the past two rounds. The Warriors shot 57.3 percent from the floor and 41.7 from three.
Stephen Curry was the points leader with 33 points, 16 of which he scored in a vintage fourth quarter to put Cleveland away. He set an NBA Finals record with nine made three-pointers. Kevin Durant posted one of his typically efficient but prolific games. He went 10-14 from the floor with 26 points. Klay Thompson poured in 20 points.
From start to finish, the Warriors dissected a Cavs defense that finished the regular season as the second-worst team in defensive efficiency.
The Warriors found easy buckets early in the game, which eased in their snipers as they ventured out to the three-point line and beyond. They started the game with three layups and three dunks in the game’s opening four minutes. They scored 22 paint points in the first 10 minutes of the game. But the Cavs hung in, via a steady dose of James buckets and complementary scoring from Kevin Love and George Hill.
For every Cavs run, the Warriors launched one of their own. Midway through the second quarter, Cleveland went on a 6-0 run, but Golden State responded with an 8-0 run to extend its lead to 59-44. Curry heated up, drilling one long three after the next, to tally 16 points entering the second half.
After two quarters of basketball, Golden State had shot 59.8 percent, and missed only four of its 23 two-point attempts. Cleveland had shot 34.8 percent. The Warriors led 59-46 entering the second half.
All year long, accentuated in the postseason, they buried opponents in the third quarter. The Warriors scored 31 points in the period Sunday, but the Cavs matched every run, behind Love’s three made three-pointers in the period, to outscore Golden State 34-31 and enter the final period trailing by 10.
One minute into the fourth quarter, James made a three-pointer. Curry responded with consecutive threes to extend Golden State’s lead to 13 points and force a Cleveland timeout.
And that’s the way the game went. While competitive, Golden State played it leading by a margin that never really seemed unstable.
The knockout blow came fewer than eight minutes remaining. Curry dribbled in a circle, bobbled the ball, picked it up, flung it toward the hoop from 28 feet out, and… swoosh. Oracle Arena erupted. Durant followed Curry’s three with a turnaround mid-range jumper to give the Warriors a 16-point lead.
The Warriors did not appear interested in milking this one to the final minute. They looked as formidable as they have all postseason in a convincing win.
