Steph Curry Caught Fire As The Warriors Took A 2-0 Lead In The NBA Finals

The Cavs lost Game 1 in horrific, gut-wrenching fashion, ultimately succumbing to the relentless offensive firepower of the Warriors in overtime after a questionable call reversal and an unbelievable late-game blunder from J.R. Smith after a missed George Hill free throw.

Entering Game 2, it was fair to wonder how much Cleveland would have in the tank after such an emotionally draining loss, but to the Cavs’ credit they hung around for most of the night. Unfortunately, that was the best they could do for 40 minutes, simply keep within arms reach of the Warriors but never really seeming like a threat to win the game.

Eventually, the floodgates opened and Golden State pulled away as it is wont to do for a 122-103 win and a 2-0 series lead. The catalyst for the Warriors’ fourth quarter run to put Cleveland away was a flurry from Steph Curry in which the two-time MVP made his early case for Finals MVP (the one accolade that’s eluded him in his career). Curry hit nine three-pointers, setting a new NBA Finals record, en route to 33 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.

He had 16 points in the final quarter, none more ridiculous than this end-of-shot-clock heave that hit nothing but net and was effectively the nail in the Cavs coffin.

Steph hit a couple more to extend the lead from comfortable to full-on blowout territory. The Warriors leaned heavily on these pass-back plays in which Curry passed into the high post or elbow and then darted to the three-point line behind whatever big for a catch-and-shoot opportunity, taking advantage of the lack of discipline by the Cavs defense.

While Steph turned it on late to finish things off, it was Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson that scored in impressively efficient fashion through the first three quarters. Thompson was 8-for-13 from the field for 20 points, battling through his sprained ankle to give Golden State exactly what they needed out of him.

Durant had 26 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists as he had moments like this where he was his lethal, isolation-scoring self, but his activity as a passer and within the team offense was a welcome sight after at times looking like he was disjointed from the Golden State offense in the conference finals.

The Cavs simply didn’t have an answer for the Warriors in Game 2, with LeBron James putting forth another solid effort with 29 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds (it’s ludicrous that’s considered just “solid” for him). However, he just didn’t have enough support as the Cavs again shot just 33.3 percent from three as a team, and Kevin Love (22 points) and Hill (15 points) were the only two to really show up in any kind of positive way on the offensive end.

The series now shifts back to Cleveland where the Cavs’ “others” have been significantly better all postseason, so there’s reason to believe they can stay alive and pull a game off of Golden State at the Q. However, this felt like a fairly demoralizing game for the Cavs considering all of their effort was simply to stay within range of the Warriors, only to see it still end up being a comprehensive 19-point blowout.