Curry barrage earns 2-0 lead in NBA Finals
OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry backpedaled in pure joy. He skipped, hollered and let the ball fly from everywhere with that feeling he gets when there’s no way it will miss — unwavering even with a defender’s hand in his face.
Curry dazzled in outdueling Lebron James as the two superstars traded big shots and celebratory moves, hitting an NBA Finals-record nine 3-pointers and scoring 33 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 122-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night for a 2-0 lead.
“Pretty special night,” Curry said,
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“and hopefully some more special things happen and we get two more wins.”
Kevin Durant found his steady stroke to score 26 points to go with nine rebounds and seven assists while also handling a load of the defensive assignment against James. Klay Thompson added 20 points while playing on a tender left leg to put the defending champions two wins from a repeat title they have talked about since the season began last fall.
James followed up his 51-point performance in Game 1 with 29 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds in a far tamer finals sequel — and a much more lopsided one — minus the utter craziness of a drama-packed Game 1 three days prior.
Game 3 is Wednesday in Cleveland. “We want to continue to be uncomfortable,” James said. “Just because we’re going home doesn’t mean we can relax.”
Kevin Love had 22 points and 10 boards for the cold-shooting Cavs, who will now try to gain some momentum back home.
Curry had the shot of the night with 7:54 to play, making an off-balance swish from several feet behind the 3-point arc over Love as the shot clock wound down, then scooting backward in delight. Curry fell into the first row of fans with a baseline 3 again over Love and four-point play at the 5:44 mark of the fourth.
“He’s a big-shot taker, big-shot maker,” Draymond Green said. “Toughshot taker, tough-shot maker.”
The long shot over Love stood out to Curry’s Splash Brother, Thompson.
“About seven seconds on the clock he just kept going backward, I don’t know why, but he just threw it up and I didn’t think it had any chance of going in,” Thompson said. “That was kind of like a dagger shot. It just gave us all the momentum back.”
The two-time MVP made 11 of 26 shots and was 9-for-17 from deep.
James pointed with both hands after his 3 with 11:04 remaining got his team within seven, before Curry answered from deep the next two trips down the floor.
“Those moments when you can come down and answer and keep the momentum on our side, it’s big,” Curry said. “Keep the crowd into it.”
Curry and James had a tense moment in the third, too.
James became irate at the officials for a no-call on Curry, who ran beneath the Cavs star and didn’t let him land with 3:54 remaining in the quarter as James caught Love’s long pass and went out of bounds. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was hit with a technical, saying afterward he didn’t say much but was on the court.