Written by Joe Garza at YahooSports.com
Inspired by the return of head coach Steve Kerr, the Golden State Warriors ran away with Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-113 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“It was just great to be on the sidelines again,” said Kerr, who plans to coach the remainder of the series after struggling with a serious back condition. “That’s what makes it so much fun, to feel the energy of the Finals. And so it’s really nice to be back.”
It certainly was for the Warriors, who scored 40 first-quarter points – including 10-of-10 free throws by Stephen Curry – to take a six-point lead and never looked back.
The rapid pace played right to the Warriors’ strengths, but they were far from perfect in the first half, turning over the ball 13 times – which led to 17 Cavs points – and having some trouble with cheap fouls. Draymond Green had three fouls, and Curry and Klay Thompson had two each by halftime with the Warriors leading 67-64.
“We’re just trying to just stay in the moment,” Kevin Durant said. “But for the most part we just try to play hard and try to play smart every possession down. Can we do that? We could play hard every possession, but can we play smart? That’s the question sometimes.”
Durant, the hero of Game 1, was once again excellent, hitting four 3-pointers, grabbing 13 rebounds, blocking five shots and scoring 33 points, but the gaudy stats weren’t what impressed Kerr.
“I thought that Kev’s defense was unreal, and it was probably the key to the whole game,” Kerr said. “His defense was amazing, and we needed it. Especially with Draymond out [because of foul trouble].”
Curry did his best to keep up with his fellow former league MVP with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but he did have eight turnovers – six in the first half.
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