OAKLAND, Calif. – Stephen Curry dribbled every which way and beat LeBron James to the rim in a move reminiscent of his recent MVP magic, and the Golden State Warriors grabbed a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals by downing the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-113 Sunday night in coach Steve Kerr's return to the sideline.
Curry recorded his first career postseason triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, while Kevin Durant contributed 33 points, 13 rebounds and six assists while moving two wins from his first championship ring.
"He's been around, the last couple weeks especially, giving us input and giving us what he's got," Curry said of Kerr. "But having him back on the bench means a lot. We love his presence. We love his voice. And we're a full group when he's out here. "
Golden State (14-0) kept alive a chance of becoming the first postseason team to go unbeaten all the way to a title.
James was equally spectacular with his own triple-double of 29 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, but again didn't get nearly enough help to keep up with Golden State's depth despite Kevin Love's 27 points and 19 from Kyrie Irving.
Klay Thompson emerged from a postseason shooting funk to score 22 points with four three-pointers while playing more stellar defense and pulling down seven rebounds for the Warriors, who shot 18-for-43 from deep.
"We turned the ball over too much in the first half. But the second half, I think we settled in, tried to play simple and defensively just tried to contest their shots," Durant said.
The best-of-seven series now shifts to Cleveland, with Game 3 Wednesday.