The Golden State Warriors will look to continue their dominance over the Cleveland Cavaliers when they square off for Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Join The Roar for the live blog and scores from 11am (AEST).
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Golden State looked as good as they have at any point this season during their Game 1 onslaught against Cleveland. What’s worse for the Cavs is that they did so much impact without their dynamic backcourt really contributing in any major way, with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combining for their lowest total of points in more than two seasons, they finished with 20 points on 8/27 shooting.
It’s not as if they weren’t getting good shots, they just couldn’t knock them down at the rates we’re used to seeing.
While Steph only had 11 points, the attention he drew from the Cavaliers’ defence on several plays led to wide-open shots for his teammates. Yes you need to keep an eye on one of the greatest shooters we’ll ever see, however the Cavaliers seemed far too worried about Curry and forgot about the rest of the offensive firepower.
With seven players finishing the game in double figures the Cavaliers had no answers for everything that was thrown their way.
Beyond the big three no other players came to the party and that’s something they’ll be counting on if they plan on steal one on the road.
JR Smith has been lauded all season long for his perimeter defence and a complete change in his game style has taken effect however he looked far too gun shy in Game 1.
Last year’s Finals MVP Andre Iguodala continues to cause the Cavaliers nightmares as he bring his A+ defensive game which then fueled into the Warriors’ run and gun game.
Nobody is expecting the Warriors to be led by Shaun Livingston in scoring come Game 2 however they shouldn’t need him to if Steph and Klay can have slightly better games.
Can LeBron rally the troops and get the rest of his team involved or will the Warriors with their ‘Strength in Numbers’ prove too much to handle?
Prediction
The Warriors made the Cavs look sloppy and so far off the pace and what made it that much scarier was that it was the second unit doing the damage. I hate to think what the first unit will do when they all fire.
Golden State Warriors 107-95
Bobbo7
Guest
Not looking good so far - I do get the impression that Oklahoma really did cough up the championship by not putting Golden State away when they were on top - the Cavs don't even look close here.
James McKern
Roar Guru
Thanks for tuning in Roarers and joining the conversation. Let's hope the rest of this series becomes a closer battle than what we've currently seen.
James McKern
Roar Guru
Match Report The Cavaliers cannot get the job done, the Warriors are running at 100% capacity and in doing so they're making the Cavs look second rate. For the first time in his career, Steph Curry finished with below 20 points in back-to-back playoff games. Somehow the Warriors still find themselves up 2-0. That's incredibly scary for the Cavaliers and incredibly good news for the Warriors. Whilst the secondary unit for the Warriors may not have been as prolific as it was in Game 1 (falling 5 points short) it wasn't required to take the reins as Draymond Green took control finishing with 28 points and making a menace of himself on the defensive end. The news for the Cavaliers isn't good, aside from LeBron James they weren't able to get any meaningful contributions. The King finishing with 19-9-8 tried everything he could however at times he forced the issue which resulted in 7 turnovers. With the other members of the big three also missing in action, Coach Lue has a lot of questions left to answer ahead of Game 3. Kevin Love played only a handful of minutes in the second half and will be questionable for Game 3 on Thursday as he'll look to recover from the knock to the back of the head he took from Harrison Barnes. We could be heading towards a clean sweep if the Cavaliers are unable to show their abilities when the series shifts back to Cleveland. Surely the only mantra the Cavs can hang their hat on is this one "It's always darkest before the dawn"
James McKern
Roar Guru
Full Time Game Stats FG GSW: 44/81 (54%) CLE: 28/79 (35%) 3PT GSW: 15/33 (45%) CLE: 5/23 (21%) FT GSW: 7/10 (70%) CLE: 16/24 (66%) REB GSW: 46 (12) CLE: 34 (9) AST GSW: 26 CLE: 15 STL GSW: 7 CLE: 15 BLK GSW: 9 CLE: 3 TOs GSW: 20 CLE: 17 BENCH GSW: 40 points, 11 assists, 17 rebounds CLE: 30 points, 3 assists, 13 rebounds
James McKern
Roar Guru
Full Time Warriors Player Stats Steph Curry: 18 points (11/20 - 5/8), 5 assists, 7 rebounds Klay Thompson: 17 points (6/13 - 4/8), 5 assists Harrison Barnes: 5 points (2/7 - 0/2), 5 rebounds Draymond Green: 28 points (11/20 - 5/8), 5 assists, 7 rebounds Andrew Bogut: 2 points (1/4), 6 rebounds, 5 blocks Leandro Barbosa: 10 points (5/7 - 0/2), 3 rebounds
James McKern
Roar Guru
Full Time Cavaliers Player Stats Kyrie Irving: 10 points (5/14 - 0/3), 3 rebounds JR Smith: 5 points (2/6 - 1/4), 2 assists, 2 rebounds LeBron James: 19 points (7/17 - 1/5), 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 7 turnovers Kevin Love: 5 points (2/7 - 1/4), 3 rebounds Tristan Thompson: 8 points (3/8), 5 rebounds Richard Jefferson: 12 points (4/6), 5 rebounds
James McKern
Roar Guru
Full time stats + report coming up. What a blowout, no idea what the Cavs can do from here. Thoughts guys?
James McKern
Roar Guru
It's crazy how good they are, every player standing up when it matters
James McKern
Roar Guru
Q4 0' GSW: 110 CLE: 77 Crowd (what's left of it) on their feet as the clock winds down. Another blowout and this looks like it might just be a sweep. Golden State Warriors 110 defeat Cleveland Cavaliers 77. Go up 2-0
McNaulty
Guest
The Warriors would demolish an East All Stars team at present.
James McKern
Roar Guru
Q4 1' GSW: 108 CLE: 75 MO BUCKETS Hits the big three much to the delight of the crowd. Now Ian Clark with the triple!!
James McKern
Roar Guru
Q4 2' GSW: 102 CLE: 75 Ezeli hits 2 of 2 from the line. Two minutes to go
James McKern
Roar Guru
With the amount that the tickets are going for, it's definitely more corporates and part time fans. The diehards will be up in the rafters still cheering madly
Damo
Guest
Particularly when your team has put on a clinic, could be the last time you'll see them this season! Obviously more corporates than actual fans?
James McKern
Roar Guru
Yep plenty of people filing out. I hate people that do that, especially considering they're probably Warriors fans
James McKern
Roar Guru
Q4 3' GSW: 100 CLE: 73 Speights tries to get in on the action with a pull up jumper, no good. Mo Williams misses his jumper the other way. Ian Clark had an eternity on that attempt but couldn't hit. Plenty of misses now going on
Marshall
Guest
Still not quite as good as the Marv Albert 'Beautiful Move' for mine!
Damo
Guest
Is that people leaving the stadium??? If they don't appreciate their tickets, I'll have them!
James McKern
Roar Guru
Q4 4' GSW: 100 CLE: 73 Delly with a 5-0 run as he hits the three after his two FTs. Barnes misses and Speights commits the foul going after the rebound.
James McKern
Roar Guru
Q4 4' GSW: 100 CLE: 70 Ezeli misses the hook over Mozgov, Delly runs up the floor and looked to have almost traveled but gets fouled in the act. Livingston checks out, another big game off the bench.