by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State Warriors started the game with an intensity that was lacking in Game one of the Finals and the maintained it as the beat the Cavaliers 122-103 to take lead the Cavs 2-0 in the best-seven-series.

The Warriors came out smoking and raced to an early 15-6 lead. The Warriors never relinquished the lead. The Cavaliers made several runs to get back in the game but the Warriors defense would not let them. Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson were factors in stopping the Cavalier offense. Warriors coach Steve Kerr made a change in the starting lineup that paid dividends. He started JaVale McGee in place of Kevon Looney and McGee came through with a terrific performance. His stat line showed that he scored 12 points and had 2 rebounds, but he was tenacious on defense.

The Warriors raced out to a 32-28 lead after the first quarter. The Cavs, led by LeBron James, closed the gap to four at the end of the first period. They were hoping to take the lead in the second quarter, but the Warriors outscored them 27-18 to lead 59-46 at the end of the first half.

The Warriors, who usually blow away opponents in the third quarter, scored 31. The Cavs scored 34 to cut the deficit to 10 after three periods of play. Curry, Durant, Green, and Thompson decided to not allow the Cavs back into the game. Steph made several 3’s in the third and fourth quarters. He made the shot of the game in the fourth quarter when he made a three-pointer with Kevin Love draped all over him and the shot clock was about to expire. Steph’s legend grew as he made a shot that mere mortals could only dream of making. The Dubs outscored the Cavs 32-23 and Cavs’ coach Tyron Lue put in his bench with less than 4 minutes to go in the game. The Warriors win 122-103.

Game Notes- The Warriors, led by Draymond Green, unleashed their ferocious defense and kept the Cvs’ offense to 41% from the floor. The Cavs made nine 3-point shots in 27 attempts. Draymond Green had this to say about the team playing defense:”I don’t think we’re close to our ceiling, which is good for us. I think we can play so much better.”

Steph Curry finished the night with 33 points. Kevin Durant snapped out of his scoring slump with 26 points. KD also had 7 assists and 9 rebounds. Klay finished with 20. Draymond scored just 5, but he had 7 assists and 8 boards. Shaun Livingston, coming off the bench, had 10.

LeBron James, who scored 51 points Thursday, tallied 29. He had 20 in the first half and the Warriors defense held him to just 9 in the second. Kevin Love helped the Cavs with22. Tristan Thompson added 11, and George Hill knocked down 15. The Entire Cavs’ bench had just 21.

The Warriors shot a very impressive 57.3% from the floor and 41.7% from 3-point range. The Cavaliers outrebounded the Dubs 42-41. Cleveland again dominated the offensive boards as they had 16 while the Warriors had just 7.

Game Three will be played in Cleveland on Wednesday at 6 pm.