LeBron James fumes as titles hopes teeter
LeBron James had a testy exchange with reporters after the Warriors overran his team | WATCH
NBA Finals 2017, Golden State Warriors v Cleveland Cavaliers game two: Hello and welcome to our coverage of game two in the best-of-seven series. Golden State have blown out the Cavs 132-113 to take a 2-0 lead. Games three and four will be held in Cleveland.
Warriors keep perfect play-offs record
Stephen Curry dribbled every which way and beat LeBron James to the rim in a move reminiscent of his recent MVP magic as the Golden State Warriors grabbed a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals by downing the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-113 Sunday night in coach Steve Kerr’s return to the sideline after a six-week absence.
Their leader and reigning NBA Coach of the Year back on the bench at last, Curry and Kevin Durant tag-teamed the Warriors within two victories of another championship. Curry recorded his first career postseason triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, while Durant contributed 33 points, 13 rebounds and six assists while moving two wins from his first ring. “He’s been around, the last couple weeks especially, giving us input and giving us what he’s got,” Curry said of Kerr. “But having him back on the bench means a lot. We love his presence. We love his voice. And we’re a full group when he’s out here. So that means a lot.”
Golden State improved to 14-0 this postseason to keep alive a chance of becoming the first group to go unbeaten all the way to a title.
James was equally spectacular with his own triple-double of 29 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, but yet again didn’t get nearly enough help to keep up with Golden State’s depth despite Kevin Love’s 27 points and 19 from Kyrie Irving.
Klay Thompson emerged from a postseason-long shooting funk to score 22 points with four 3-pointers while playing more stellar defence and pulling down seven rebounds for the Warriors, who shot 18 for 43 from deep.
“We turned the ball over too much in the first half. But the second half, I think we settled in, tried to play simple and defensively just tried to contest their shots,” Durant said.
The best-of-seven series now shifts to Cleveland for two games, with Game 3 Wednesday.
Kerr returned to the bench to a rousing ovation, waving to the fans while back on the sideline for the first time since Game 2 of the first round against Portland on April 19 because of pain issues stemming from complications after 2015 back surgery.
“I’m going to pull out the ‘Win one for the Gipper’ speech,” Kerr joked. “’Knute Rockne, All-American?’ Yeah, probably show that. Maybe get a little teary-eyed. Implore them to win it for me because it’s not important for them to win it for themselves.” Curry provided the coach more than a glimpse of his greatness from up close after Kerr had been watching games from the locker room while speaking to his players beforehand and at halftime.
He ran circles around James during one masterfully skilful sequence, then drove left through the paint for a right-handed layup over the star’s outstretched arm during a signature moment in another rout. James had little help as Love got there late.
Curry wore his emotions for everybody to see, willing the unblemished Warriors even when Cleveland went on a third-quarter run after that play. Durant scored from every corner of the court. An off-balance Durant flicked the ball up while falling backward and being fouled by Love and got a lucky bounce for a three-point play 7:04 before halftime just after Love had hit a 3 on the other end.
Now, Golden State is headed to Northeast Ohio needing just two more - yet don’t count on anybody considering this series close to done. The Warriors squandered a 3-1 lead to the Cavs a year ago to miss a repeat.
Curry made all 14 of his free throws. He and Durant combined for 66 points and 18 assists in the opener, then dominated again while the supporting cast shined. Draymond Green had 12 points, six rebounds and six assists playing all game in foul trouble and Shaun Livingston scored 10 off the bench.
This time, Curry committed eight turnovers as Cleveland committed to putting more pressure on the ball to keep Durant from driving and dunking untouched as he did so many times in Game 1.
It didn’t matter in the end.
12.50pm: Familiar territory
Stephen Curry had a triple double with 33 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Kevin Durant scored 33 and the Golden State Warriors took a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals with a 132-113 victory in Game 2 on Sunday night.
The big nights from the former MVPs made coach Steve Kerr a winner in his return to the bench after a more than six-week absence following complications from back surgery.
This marks the second straight year Golden State won the first two games of the Finals. Cleveland rallied to win last year’s series in seven games. LeBron James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists to tie Magic Johnson’s record with his eighth career Finals triple-double.
It was just the second time in NBA playoff history two players had triple- doubles in the same game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and Walt Frazier did it in 1970.
12.40pm: Another rout
The Golden State Warriors have crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-113 in game two of their finals series, taking a 2-0 series lead. Game three will be played in Cleveland on Thursday morning (Australian time).
12.35pm: Feats of Klay
Stephen Curry, he’s got a triple-double with 30 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.
Kevin Durant, he’s up to 31 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five blocks so far in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
But Sunday’s biggest key for Golden State might be this: Klay Thompson looks like himself again.
Thompson is 8 for 12 from the field, 4 for 7 from 3-point range, and he has 22 points as the Warriors have built a 121-99 lead nearing the midpoint of the fourth quarter.
Thompson shot 3 for 16 in Game 1.
A quick note on Curry: It’s his eighth triple-double, and first in the postseason. The Warriors are 7-0 in previous games when Curry had a triple-double.
12.30pm: Raining threes
BOOM SHAKALAKA.
— Hashtag Basketball (@hashBasketball) June 5, 2017
BACK-TO-BACK THREES FROM CURRY AND DURANT.
MAKE. IT. STOP.#NBAFinals #DefendTheLand vs #DubNation pic.twitter.com/l409dz3qvM
12.25pm: It’s a blowout
With just over five minutes left in the game, the Warriors have a 121-104 lead. The home team have five players in double figures, while LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving are carrying the Cavs scoring load.
12.10pm: Numbers won’t add up to a win
LeBron James has another NBA Finals triple-double.
Golden State is in full control of Game 2 anyway.
Stephen Curry is 14 for 14 from the line and has 27 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, Kevin Durant has 24 points and the Warriors lead Cleveland 102-88 going into the fourth quarter.
A potential issue for the Warriors down the stretch: Draymond Green has five fouls.
Klay Thompson has bounced back in a big way, scoring 17 so far for Golden State. James has 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds - his eighth Finals triple- double, tying Magic Johnson’s NBA record.
James’ teams are 4-3 in his previous Finals triple-double nights. He had one for Miami in 2011, another in 2012 and two in 2013. He then had two for Cleveland in 2015, one last year and his Sunday one is No. 8.
Kevin Love has 24 for the Cavs, who were outscored 35-24 in the third.
12pm: Cavs in deep trouble
The Warriors lead 102-88 after three quarters of game two, with Steph Curry closing in on 30 points and seemingly leading his team to a comfortable 2-0 series lead.
Curry dances his way for two to extend the @warriors lead!#NBAFinals on #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/HsLU8Wmvcl
— NBA (@NBA) June 5, 2017
11.25am: Little in it at half-time
Going back to last season, nine of the last 11 games between Golden State and Cleveland have been decided by double digits.
This one is looking much different.
It’s halftime of Game 2 of the NBA Finals, and Golden State leads Cleveland 67-64. The Warriors led by as many as 12 points, but LeBron James has been his usual outstanding self in the first two quarters.
James has 18 points, 10 assists and six rebounds already. Kevin Love has 15 and Kyrie Irving scored 10 for Cleveland.
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant both have 15 points for the Warriors. Curry didn’t score in the second quarter, however. And the Warriors have 13 turnovers already, which the Cavs have turned into 17 points.
This is only the fifth Finals game - and the first since 1967 - where both teams had at least 64 points at the half.
11.10am: Green machine misfires
Draymond Green is back, after three first-quarter fouls.
It’s a bold move by Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who’s in his first game back after an 11-game absence with health issues. Kerr returned Green to the lineup by the midpoint of the second quarter, and with Cleveland steadily cutting into what was a double-digit Golden State lead.
The Warriors lead 59-56 with 3 minutes left in the half.
10.50am: LeBron gets aggressive
Golden State has committed twice as many turnovers already in Game 2 than it did in the entirety of Game 1 - eight so far in this game, four in all of the series opener on Thursday.
Doesn’t matter. The Warriors lead Cleveland 40-34 after the first quarter. Stephen Curry has tied Paul Pierce’s NBA Finals record with 10 free throws made in a quarter. Curry leads everybody with 15 points, and the Warriors became the sixth team in Finals history to score at least 40 points in an opening quarter. LeBron James has 10 points and five assists to lead Cleveland. The Cavaliers led 9-3 early, before the Warriors went on a 23-7 run to take what was a 26-16 lead.
James has been attacking early and often, with dunks, layups and a strong three- point play after taking what essentially was a tackle attempt from JaVale McGee on a drive and scoring anyway.
10.40am: Cavs trail early
Cleveland’s hopes of squaring the series face a test as the Warriors skip out to a 40-34 lead after the first quarter. Steph Curry has 15 points for Golden State, while LeBron leads the visitors with 10 points.
10.20am: Dangers of a 2-0 hole
Here we go: Game 2 of the NBA Finals has started.
There are no changes to the starting lineups from Game 1 for either team, which is not a surprise.
For Cleveland, it’s LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith. For Golden state, it’s Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia.
Coach Steve Kerr has returned to the Warriors’ bench Sunday after missing the last 11 games while dealing with complications following back surgeries, and naturally got a huge roar from the Golden State faithful at Oracle Arena when introduced. Kerr’s picture was shown on the videoboard as the fans stood and cheered.
A 2-0 series lead guarantees nothing, but would obviously put the Warriors in a good spot. The only teams to rally from 2-0 down in The Finals are Boston (over the L.A. Lakers) in 1969, Portland (over Philadelphia) in 1977, Miami (over Dallas) in 2006 ... and of course, Cleveland over the Warriors last season.
10.15am: Warriors coach returns
It’s Comeback Night at Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is back. And so are Cleveland’s black jerseys. Even though Cleveland star LeBron James is no fan of the short-sleeved look, it is one that works for the Cavs. They wore the black shirts while winning Game 7 of the NBA Finals last year, and will try the look again Sunday against Golden State.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue says he wasn’t even aware of the team’s uniform scheme for Game 2, though noted, “they love those jerseys. But we’ve still got to play. It doesn’t make a difference what jersey you wear.” The Cavs went with a more basketball-traditional look, donning navy uniforms for their Game 1 loss.
LeBron James gets the first bucket of Game 2! #NBAFinals
— NBA (@NBA) June 5, 2017
WATCH: #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/axWIiGACpr
Preview
Coach Tyronn Lue has a new No. 1 priority for LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the NBA Finals: Stop the ball. First and foremost, then make sure Golden State’s sharpshooters have a hand in their face. Translation: Do anything and everything possible to stop Kevin Durant from driving through the paint and dunking at will with nobody even around him. “Well, I’m pretty sure that won’t happen tomorrow,” Durant said with a grin on Saturday.
“They will be way more physical. They’re going to be way more aggressive in the pick-and-roll on the offensive end and defensively.
“They’re going to try to get their 3-point shooters going and rebound the ball. They’re going to try to get more offensive rebounds. They’re just going to muck the game up and be physical.” That’s the plan for the defending champions when the return to the Warriors’ home court at Oracle Arena on Sunday night and will be key if they want to even the best-of-seven series and look respectable after the Warriors whipped them 113-91 on Thursday night.
Durant scored 38 points and dunked easily, six times in the first half alone and many of which he went untouched to the rim.
“We can’t let Durant get easy baskets like that,” Lue said. “With him being probably one of the best scorers in the NBA, you can’t give guys like that easy opportunities at the basket.” Taking care of the ball will be equally important after that became a major problem in the opener for Cleveland, who committed 20 turnovers in an uncharacteristically sloppy game.
The 13-0 Warriors are on a roll and matched a Finals low with only four turnovers, and if Klay Thompson finds his shooting touch at last it could be another tough day on defence for the Cavs.
They want to get physical, contest shots, somehow find a way to get Golden State out of their groove.
Welcome back, Coach. 👠#StandingOvation #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/mwPcWmzPqY
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 5, 2017
Durant and Steph Curry combined for 66 points and 18 assists, moving the Warriors three straight wins from becoming the first team to go unbeaten in the playoffs on the way to a title.
Four-time NBA MVP James, in his seventh straight Finals, has a remarkable run of having won at least one game on the road in 29 straight postseason series. On Sunday, King James will try to make it 30.
“We had a lot of unforced turnovers. Some of them were from aggression,” James said. “I had two charges, that’s aggression. I can take those. But also had some when I got caught in the air and tried to make some skip passes and they were able to pick them off. That’s like throwing the ball to Deion Sanders. Most of the time it’s going to be a touchdown going the other way.”
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