Just like in Game 1, the Golden State Warriors dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning 110-77 at Oracle Arena. Golden State now leads the NBA Finals best of seven series 2-0.

Both teams struggled early on, going a combined 0-8 from outside to start. Once Golden State got going in the second quarter, Cleveland could not keep up. The Warriors outscored Cleveland by 35 points in the final three quarters. The Cavs led at the end of the first quarter 21-19.

Continued help from role players 

Forward Draymond Green led the Warriors with 28 points on 11-20 shooting, going 5-8 from three-point range. Green also collected seven rebounds along with five assists. Cleveland’s defense constantly left Green open and he made them pay. Whenever a Cavs defender closed out on the former Michigan State Spartan, he found an open teammate for an easy look.

Guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson did not have to do much in this game. The two-time Most Valuable Player finished with 18 points on 7-11 shooting, with eight rebounds and nine assists in only 25 minutes. Curry's splash Klay Thompson scored 17 on 6-13 shooting. Both men shot an efficient 4-8 from downtown. With the Cavs defense focused on the All-Star duo, the role players stepped up once again and made the Eastern Conference champions pay.

The Warriors bench once again proved to be the difference. Leandro Barbosa led all Golden State reserves with 10 points on 5-7 shooting to go along with three rebounds. Guard Shaun Livingston played 24 minutes, scoring seven points on 3-4 shooting while recording five assists. Andre Iguodala added seven points with five boards and three dimes. Golden State held a +28 point differential with Iguodala on the floor.

Too big on the inside

Golden State dominated inside. (Photo credit: Getty)
Golden State dominated inside. (Photo credit: Getty)

Early on, Golden State exposed Cleveland’s lack of size on the interior, out-rebounding them 46-34, including a 12-9 advantage on the offensive glass. The Warriors held a 50-40 edge in the paint, constantly attacking the inside especially when both teams used smaller lineups.

Andrew Bogut made his presence felt early on, blocking four shots in the first eight minutes of the game. The fourth block led to a transition three for Curry, his first of the game. Cleveland once again started Tristan Thompson at center, and the lack of spacing he provides allowed Bogut to patrol the paint and bother Cleveland’s shots down low.

Continued struggles on offense 

From the onset, Cleveland struggled to get baskets. LeBron James did not score in the first quarter for the first time in his Finals career. James ended up with 19, leading the Cavs, on 7-17 shooting, with eight boards and nine assists. James turned the ball over seven times, forcing bad passes, losing the ball in the post, and getting called for a couple of traveling violations.

The entire Cleveland offense looked awful, mostly thanks to the Warriors quick rotations on defense. The Cavs shot just 35 percent from the field, tying their worst mark in the playoffs this year. Cleveland only shot a woeful 21 percent from three point range, due to a combination of Golden State contesting many of Cleveland’s three-pointers and Cavs players playing a lot of isolation ball.

Kyrie Irving began the game making two of his first three shots. The number one overall pick made just three of his remaining 11 attempts, finishing with just 10 points. Kevin Love played just as bad, scoring just five points on 2-7 shooting. Love was elbowed inadvertently by Harrison Barnes on a rebound attempt in the second quarter. The former UCLA standout left the game in the third period for the concussion protocol and did not return.

Richard Jefferson came off the bench and provided a spark, scoring 12 points on 4-6 shooting, the only Cavalier that really shot well.

What's next?

After a two-day break, these two square off again at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland for Game 3, a must win for James and company.  

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About the author
Christopher Jeter
My name is Chris Jeter and I am a sports writer from Baltimore, MD. I also write for The Aegis and I have my own sports blog that can be read here: https://wordpress.com/view/sportsandstuff205.wordpress.com. Follow me on Twitter @cjet91.