ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — Three nights after taking Game 1 of the 2016 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors (1-0) were back at home to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2.
The Warriors were without James McAdoo (inactive) and Kevon Looney (left hip surgery).
1st Quarter – Bogut Plays Volleyball
Kyrie Irving hit the first two jumpers he took for the Cavs, then after a few empty possessions by both teams, Draymond Green finally hit the first bucket for the Warriors, as he let Klay Thompson cut by with a fake hand-off, then took Tristan Thompson off the dribble for a banker.
Kevin Love answered with a strong left block move past Harrison Barnes, then an entry pass into Green from Stephen Curry went awry, Draymond lost it, got it back, then went baseline, drew help, and threw a lob to Andrew Bogut for a two-hand smash.
At the other end, Green swatted a Love reverse attempt after he again powered his way past Barnes, but Thompson was there to gather the garbage and slam home the loose ball under the hoop.
After a couple non-scoring sequences which included a LeBron James attack in transition, Curry attempting to take a charge, not getting the call, but James missing a lefty scoop, then Klay throwing a backcourt violation to Draymond, J.R Smith finally got to the line against Klay, but missed both free throws.
Curry then found Andre Iguodala open under the hoop:
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On the next possession, the Warriors got two offensive rebounds in a row. The second was Steph tracking down Green’s miss, then firing the ball back to Draymond in the lane for a slam.
James got the power move step past Klay with the attack, but Bogut was there to volleyball-swat the layup away. After that, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called timeout and with 5:54 remaining in the first frame, the Cavs had the lead, 10-8.
Irving then stole an entry pass from Bogut to Green, but Thompson got swatted again, volleyball style, by Bogut and Curry came back in transition and popped from downtown:
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Later, Love tried to bulldoze his way past Draymond in the left block, but Bogut was there again and got his fourth block of the night, but Steph threw the ball away as James snagged his entry pass and Bogut ended up fouling LeBron to stop the break. Smith eventually hit a three to end the sequence.
After Green got a putback of Bogut’s putback attempt of Draymond’s initial miss, Steph missed a three from the top and Festus Ezeli slammed home the miss:
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Smith missed a jumper, Curry went coast-to-coast for a lefty scoop, and Lue took another timeout, the Warriors taking a 17-13 lead with 2:57 to play.
But to close things out, Andre Iguodala and Barnes committed consecutive turnovers, although Iguodala drew this charge on James…
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…and the Cavs ended the first frame ahead, 21-19.
2nd Quarter – Steph Sparks Spurt
The Cavs started the second stanza on the right foot, as Iman Shumpert hit a triple, Barnes turned the ball over, and LeBron got a layup in transition, prompting Kerr to call timeout as Cleveland inched ahead, 26-22, with 10:38 to go.
Out of the timeout, Barnes got blocked by Channing Frye, and James finished the play off with a thunderous dunk.
But Klay came back with a catch-and-shoot from right arc…
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…and the momentum swung back to the Warriors as LeBron turned the ball over to Draymond and Shaun Livingston capped the sequence off with a slam at the other end…
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…resulting in Green turning to the Cavs bench to signal timeout. Lue did so, and the Cavs’ lead was down to 28-27, with 9:36 left.
Matthew Dellavedova then missed a jumper, and Iguodala found Barnes for a dunk on the cut:
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After a Frye hook shot, Klay made a jumper, James drew foul shots on Livingston, but Draymond hit two triples in a row, one from the left, then the right.
With no timeout from Lue, Curry stole a Tristan Thompson inside move, and Barnes swatted Irving’s layup into the rim, forcing a jump ball that the Warriors won.
Curry hit a dribble-and-pop, then Draymond took Thompson down the left lane for an “and-one” and, after a TV timeout, the Warriors held a 42-30 lead with 5:09 remaining.
The Cavs went on a mini-run with a Love triple and a LeBron layup after Klay missed a three, but after a timeout by Kerr at the 3:36 mark with the Warriors up, 42-35, Golden State went on a tear.
Curry first hit a three out of a timeout on a catch-and-shoot from the left wing, then got a dribble inside the arc and dished out to Klay from the same spot.
Steph added a layup after that…
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…then Iguodala got an “and-one” on contact on the catch of a laser entry pass from Livingston, with James fouling Iguodala, although he missed the free throw.
Just like that, the Warriors had a 52-37 lead with 2:08 to play.
Richard Jefferson got a driving reverse layup to fall, followed by LeBron going down the lane for a soaring dunk, plus a strong right-hand take past the smaller Livingston, bulldoze-style, and Iguodala threw the ball away on a swing pass, with Jefferson getting fouled on the fast break with 1.1 seconds to go.
Kerr brough Steph back for a potential miracle three-quarter-court heave, which missed, and the Cavs cut their deficit to 52-44 at halftime.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @thatfrenchguy)
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