OAKLAND, Calif. _ The three Warriors' stars seemingly can make shots anytime they want. All they have to do is take them.
Yet, charting the Warriors' 122-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday at Oracle Arena involves much more than scanning the box score for Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
The box score shows Curry finished with 33 points, including an NBA Finals record nine 3-pointer. Durant scored 26 points while shooting 10-of-14. Thompson, listed as questionable coming into the game, had 20 points on a 8-of-13 clip from the field and a 3-of-8 mark from the perimeter.
The box score does not fully explain what led to Durant, Curry and Thompson fulfilling their normal job description to ensure a 2-0 series lead with Game 3 on Wednesday in Cleveland.
Curry finished with his 29th career playoff 30-point game and his second this postseason. But he offered much more than those numbers suggested. Though he went only 3-of-8 from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range in the first quarter, Curry also had five assists.
Then his shot came back in the second quarter when he went 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Curry also made consecutive 3-pointers that gave the Warriors a 96-83 cushion with 10:11 left in the fourth quarter. He later tossed a 29-footer as the shot clock expired, and the shot swished into the net for a 103-89 with 7:54 left. He then converted on a four-point play for a 109-93 advantage with 5:44 remaining after draining a 3-pointer and falling down.
Durant shot efficiently from the field after shooting 8-of-22 and 1-of-7 from the perimeter in the Warriors' Game 1 win. He had spent parts of the postseason struggling with his 3-point shooting against San Antonio (25 percent), New Orleans (32.1) and Games 4 and 6 of the Western Conference Finals against Houston (20 percent).
Thompson shot above 50 percent from the field for the fifth consecutive game and became the sixth player in NBA history to make 300 career 3-pointers in the postseason. His latest efficient shooting night coincided, though, with nursing pain in his left ankle that left his availability uncertain until he completed a pregame workout.
Add all those contributions up, and it did not matter what Cleveland forward LeBron James did (29 points on 10-of-20 shooting, 13 assists, nine rebounds). Those numbers paled to the postseason-high 51 points he posted in Game 1, anyway.
