FINAL RECAP WITH HIGHLIGHTS: NBA Finals Game 2 – Warriors (2-0) Splash Their Way To Victory, Defeat Cleveland Cavs, 132-113

ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Golden State Warriors, Game 2 of the 2017 NBA Finals.

The Warriors held a 67-64 advantage heading into the third quarter.

Q3: Timely Splashes

Kevin Durant and LeBron James traded jumpers to open the second half, then Durant drew a foul on a made triple from the left wing, assisted by Stephen Curry, as J.R. Smith didn’t allow Durant space to land:

[protected-iframe id=”47832bb58afab478bc78ba169292976c-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fnba%2Fstatus%2F871541595828621313″ width=”360″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″]

James drew free throws on another attck, but Curry came back with a three from the top.

Later, Steph added some more flair, using an upfake to get into the paint past LeBron and getting a layup before Kevin Love could help out:

[protected-iframe id=”50df3630815d9642ea9807c2b664a5c9-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fnbatv%2Fstatus%2F871543915056427008″ width=”360″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″]

However, it appeared that Curry double-dribbled:

[protected-iframe id=”40b9c3a2ae5e1695c5c5eff2b9ef4952-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FBleacherReport%2Fstatus%2F871752822429163520″ width=”360″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″]

The mini-run gave the Warriors an 83-73 lead and Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue called timeout.

But Shumpert got a putback after his first try at the rim got blocked by KD, then after Steph tapped a missed three by Durant to Klay Thompson, who buried the triple where he was standing…

[protected-iframe id=”d7966f92a12d7263955a2bf1205043b3-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FDrewShiller%2Fstatus%2F871813097345789952″ width=”360″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″]

…LeBron answered with a cold-blooded triple, then got past Durant for a lefty layup, and threw a beautiful lob entry pass to a posting Kyrie Irving, and just like that, the Cavs were back in business, down just 86-82 as Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called timeout with 5:42 remaining.

But out of the timeout, James threw a bad lob this time, trying to hit Love on a very difficult catch, and Andre Iguodala threw the outlet to Durant, who drew a foul on the break from behind on Shumpert, a bad foul by Shumpert.

The Warriors weren’t done, as Kyrie missed on a spin, and Curry motored downhill after the defensive rebound to dish a no-look pass to Shaun Livingston for the smash:

[protected-iframe id=”6b6049f584276bee0bdb1fac4bdbdb1a-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fbballbreakdown%2Fstatus%2F871545659538657280″ width=”360″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″] [protected-iframe id=”dab5321d3e711ded33f208ccb9300c88-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fcjzero%2Fstatus%2F871546722719322113″ width=”360″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″]

The tide turned, and Lue called timeout as Golden State roared ahead, 93-82, with 4:48 to play.

Later, Curry almost committed another turnover with a weak swing pass to Klay, but somehow the ball got through to him and he turned and drilled a triple:

[protected-iframe id=”add67fc3d96e94390bd736ae5de7d508-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Frealgm%2Fstatus%2F871546321563299840″ width=”360″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″]

After free throws by Steph and Draymond Green on physical fouls by Richard Jefferson, the latter on a pick-and-roll where Jefferson brought Green, who was setting the screen, down to the floor, Golden State had a 99-84 lead.

Kevin Love made a nice power move for a reverse layup against Draymond, but Curry hit a three on isolation with Love on the left arc:

[protected-iframe id=”bbdbeffa5780522211f6a28c589a053c-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Frealgm%2Fstatus%2F871547863536328704″ width=”360″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″]

However, Draymond picked up his fifth personal foul as he reached in on a post entry pass into Love.

With the last possession of the quarter, Steph found himself against Deron Williams, made a couple crossovers, but couldn’t connect on a runner, and the Warriors took a 102-88 lead into the final frame, with Curry tallying 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Q4: Daggers

Ian Clark and David West connected as they usually do to start the latter quarter of each half and, later, Clark scored again on an assist by Durant, although Irving answered with a driving layup at the other end. With 9:20 remaining, the Kerr called timeout with the Warriors still sporting a 106-94 cushion.

KD scored after the timeout, again via West, then Kyrie retaliated with a triple, only to get matched by another Klay trey. Thompson added two more on an inbound play, then Durant denied Love and went hard to the bucket, pushing the margin to 115-97 with 7:16 to play as Lue called a timeout:

[protected-iframe id=”7c755ee923cdf31a33e2e5fc39cbb4be-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fhotnewhiphop%2Fstatus%2F871553328534237186″ width=”360″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″]

Out of the timeout, Tristan Thompson finally showed some life with a basket, but Durant threw another dagger three, Irving came back and missed from distance, and Steph put a huge nail in the Cavs’ coffin from deep:

[protected-iframe id=”b6095994880666b05be03d367ae30756-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fnba%2Fstatus%2F871553606176133120″ width=”360″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″]

Irving hit a jumper and James turned a defensive rebound into an assist to Love for a triple, prompting Kerr to call timeout as the Warriors owned a 121-104 lead with 5:35 to go.

Again out of the timeout, Golden State cashed in in dramatic fashion, Andre Iguodala getting a dunk via Steph, followed by another dunk by Durant via Green, and Curry chipped in another bucket to take an insurmountable 127-106 lead as Cleveland’s time was running out with just 3:09 left.

Both mop-up crews were in with Derrick Williams and Dahntay Jones in for the Cavs and James McAdoo for the Warriors and scoring baskets, with Deron Williams and Ian Clark each hitting treys, resulting in a final score of 132-113.

Golden State (2-0) now heads to Cleveland to face the Cavs (0-2) for Games 3 and 4 in the 2017 NBA Finals. The Warriors have now won 14 consecutive playoff games, and NBA record.

---

[twitter-follow screen_name=’poormanscommish’ show_count=’yes’]

(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @c.williams_)