Kerr’s return winds up Warriors Curry, Durant set the pace as Golden State crushes Cavaliers
OAKLAND, California — The way Stephen Curry dribbled every which way to beat LeBron James to the rim in a move reminiscent of his MVP magic underlined the ease with which the Golden State Warriors grabbed a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals by downing the Cleveland Cavaliers 132113 on Sunday night.
In coach Steve Kerr’s return to the bench after a six-week absence, 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.
“He’s been around, the last couple weeks especially, giving us input and giving us what he’s got,” Curry said of Kerr, the NBA’s reigning Coach of the Year. “But having him back on the bench means a lot. We love his presence. We love his voice. We’re a full group when he’s here.”
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 it wasn’t 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 defense and pulling down seven rebounds for the Warriors, who shot 18 for 43 from downtown.
“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 shifts to Cleveland for two, with Game 3 on Wednesday.
Kerr returned to the bench for the first time since Game 2 of the quarterfinals against Portland on April 19 because of pain issues stemming from complications after 2015 back surgery.
He got a rousing ovation, waving to the fans as he took his seat on the bench.
“I’m going to pull out the ‘Win one for the Gipper’ speech,” Kerr joked before the game. “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 at halftime.
He ran circles around James during one masterful sequence, then drove left through the paint for a righthanded layup over the Cleveland superstar’s outstretched arm during a signature moment in another rout.
Curry wore his emotions for everybody to see, willing the unblemished Warriors even when the Cavs went on a third-quarter run.
Durant scored from every corner of the court. Off-balance, he 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.
Now, Golden State is headed to Ohio needing just two more — but 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.
“Well, it’s been a great run but none of that matters unless we can finish the job with this series,” Kerr said. “Trust me, we know. It was 2-0 last year ... and we lost.”
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. 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. “They won two games,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “Now we’ve got to go home and regroup.”