Warriors whip Cavaliers to take 2-0 NBA Finals lead

Published 8:15 am Monday, June 6, 2016

Draymond Green emphatically flexed his bulging biceps with big plays on both ends of the floor, and these Golden State Warriors might just be far too strong for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That repeat title Golden State has spoken of since the very start more than eight months ago is suddenly two wins from reality.

It will be the only way the Warriors’ record-setting season ends right. For now, they sure seem unstoppable.

Email newsletter signup

Green had 28 points with five 3-pointers, seven rebounds and five assists, while MVP Stephen Curry scored 18 points despite foul trouble, and Golden State thoroughly overwhelmed Cleveland 110-77 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night.

“There’s no point in celebrating or jumping up and down saying, ‘Look at us.’ We’re two games away from winning a championship, but we still have to go out and get the job done,” Curry said. “It’s a trap to think that we’ve figured things out, that we have the perfect formula to beat Cleveland and they have no chance in the series. That’s not how we’re supposed to think.”

The 33-point win was the Warriors’ most lopsided ever in a finals game — and they have won the first two by a combined 48 points.

“They just beat us,” LeBron James said. “We didn’t win anything. No points of the game did we beat them in anything.”

Once the Splash Brothers found their shooting touch, Cleveland couldn’t keep up. Klay Thompson got hot after halftime to finish with 17 points as Golden State became the first team to go ahead 2-0 in the finals since the Lakers in 2009 against Orlando.

Now, the series shifts to Cleveland, and James and the Cavs must show up for Game 3 on Wednesday in front of their title-starved fans down 2-0 to the defending champs and with forward Kevin Love dealing with a head injury.

“We’ve got to be tougher,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said.

The NBA said Love experienced dizziness early in the second half and left for the locker room to be re-examined, then was placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol. He hadn’t exhibited any symptoms before then, even after taking an elbow to the back of the head from Harrison Barnes in the second quarter and going down for several minutes before returning following a timeout. He immediately made a baseline 3-pointer for the Cavs’ first basket in nearly 5½ minutes.