The Golden State Warriors looked to carry the momentum of Game 1’s overtime win against the Cleveland Cavaliers into Game 2 of the NBA Finals. With Game 1 victory the Warriors now have history on their side. Their chance of winning the series is 81% according to BPI and the winner of Game 1 has a 48-20 series record. This does not bode well for the Cavs who only scored two points in Game 1’s overtime and are without Kyrie Irving for the rest of the series after he suffered a fractured kneecap late in the opening game. The Cavs look to avenge their Game 1 loss and even up the series at 1-1.
1st Quarter
The Warriors got out to a fast start with Klay Thompson scoring early and often, starting the game 4-6 from the field, but picked up two quick fouls and had to sit for majority of the first quarter. With Thompson on the bench, LeBron James and the Cavs went to work using an 8-0 scoring run to end the quarter with a tie at 20-20. Stephen Curry got off to a slow start and could not find a shooting rhythm, so it was up to his teammates to pick up the slack. Leandro Barbosa was a spark plug off the bench for the Warriors and contributed by scoring key baskets throughout the quarter. The Cavs increased aggression was evident from the tip with Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith attacking the basket more and getting involved with rebounds.
1st Quarter Stats Leaders
GSW – Klay Thompson – 9 pts, 1 blk, 1 stl
Cle – LeBron James – 10 pts, 3 rebs
2nd Quarter
The second quarter began and Curry’s struggles continued. He uncharacteristically missed free throws and ended up finishing the half going 2-10 from the field. Thompson was able to pick up the slack for the Warriors and kept on scoring, finishing off the half with 20 points. He initially had 21 points, but a 3 pointer was changed to a 2 pointer prior to a halftime review by the officials. James on the other hand looked more comfortable dishing off the ball to teammates and allowing them to get their own shots. He finished the half with 20 points, the offensive flow was better and players who didn’t think of shooting in Game 1 were attempting shots. James Jones became the first player besides J.R. Smith to score points off the bench for the Cavs, finishing the half with 8 points. The Cavs had the lead a the half 47-45.
Halftime Stats Leaders
GSW – Klay Thompson – 20 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast
Cle – LeBron James – 20 pts, 6 rebs, 6 ast
3rd Quarter
The start of the second half saw a balanced affair with both teams trading baskets with the tempo of the game playing right into the hands of the Cavs. James sat on the bench early in the quarter and that was all Timofey Mozgov needed to take over. He quickly became the second scorer that the Cavs have sorely been missing this series. The Cavs went to doubling Curry every time he touched the ball, challenging the rest of the Warriors to beat them. The strategy seemed to work as the Warriors were only able to score 14 points in the quarter, but with James on the bench early the Cavs did not fare any better by scoring only 15 points. Marreese Speights missed a wide open dunk at the end of the quarter that could have changed the momentum in the Warriors’ favor. The quarter ended with the score 62-59 in favor of the Cavs.
3rd Quarter Stats Leaders
GSW – Klay Thompson – 25 pts, 3 rebs, 3 ast
Cle – LeBron James – 26 pts, 10 rebs, 8 ast
4th Quarter
The intensity picked up to start the final quarter with Matthew Dellavedova finally getting his offense going by hitting floaters and just overall being active defensively. Thompson continued his hot shooting, hitting big shot after big shot to keep the Warriors close. The Cavs were able to get their largest lead of the game, going up 10 points mid-way through the quarter by using unselfish play and timely shots. The Warriors try to battle back, but great defense and too much James puts the Cavs back into control late in the quarter. The Warriors went to the Hack-A-Shaq with under three minutes remaining and began to put Tristan Thompson on the foul line. The strategy worked as Thompson struggled to make his free throws and Curry took advantage hitting a quick three pointer and a pair of free throws. The Warriors found themselves down by five points with 2:35 remaining. Golden State was able to use a set of scoring runs and tough defense to fight all the way back to tie the game at 87-87. Like Game 1, James has a chance to win it in regulation and misses a lay-up through contact with no call. Game 2 heads to overtime and becomes the first NBA Finals ever to have two straight overtime games to start a series.
4th Quarter Stat Leaders
GSW – Klay Thompson – 34 pts, 5 rebs, 2 ast
Cle – LeBron James – 36 pts, 14 rebs, 10 ast
Overtime
Cleveland struck first in overtime with James finding Shumpert for a big three pointer. There was a huge difference from the Game 1 overtime, where the Cavs went isolation through James in every possession. Draymond Green scored his first two baskets of the game at a critical time allowing the game not to get away from the Warriors. A potentially game defining play was a missed call on Andre Iguodala as he clearly fouls James while he is in the act of shooting. The next play Curry gets fouled in the act of shooting and makes his two free throws as the Warriors take the lead by one. Jones misses an open three and Dellavedova is fouled in the act of shooting, he makes his two free throws and the lead changes again. Curry misses Golden State’s final shot attempt and the Cavaliers take Game 2 95-93, evening the NBA Finals 1-1.
Wrap-Up
This is the second straight game of the series where the pace of the game fell right into the hands of the Cavs. In Game 1 Cleveland was unable to hold onto the lead and allowed the Warriors to grab momentum going into overtime. This second game was almost the same story, but the Cavs played unselfish offensively and closed down when they had to defensively. James set the tone for the Cavs all game by recording a Triple-Double, but Dellavedova’s energy on the defensive end is what helped Cleveland win the game. The storyline for the Warriors is whether or not Steph Curry’s shooting struggles will continue into Game 3. He shot better towards the end of the game and overtime but still never looked in sync. Game 3 will be in Cleveland, Tuesday, June 9th at 9 PM EST.
Final Key Contributor Stats
GSW
Klay Thompson – 34 pts, 5 rebs, 2 ast
Stephen Curry – 19 pts, 6 rebs, 5 ast
Draymond Green – 10 pts, 10 rebs, 3 blks
Harrison Barnes – 11 pts, 6 rebs, 1 stl
Cle
LeBron James – 39 pts, 16 rebs, 11 ast
Timofey Mozgov – 17 pts, 11 rebs
J.R. Smith – 13 pts, 4 rebs, 1 stl
Tristan Thompson – 2 pts, 14 rebs, 1 stl, 1 blk
Sources:
http://national.suntimes.com/national-sports/7/72/1243558/winning-game-1-warriors-great-odds-taking-nba-finals
http://www.nba.com/games/20150607/CLEGSW/gameinfo.html#OT1