LDN - Sports

Warriors beat Cavs to take 2-0 Finals series lead

[June 05, 2017] By Rory Carroll

OAKLAND (Reuters) - The Golden State Warriors overcame 20 turnovers and a triple-double by Cleveland's LeBron James to beat the Cavaliers 132-113 at Oracle arena on Sunday and push their Finals series lead to 2-0.

Warriors forward Kevin Durant was once again the best player on the court as he electrified the gold-clad sold-out crowd in Oakland with 33 points and 13 rebounds to go along with five blocks three steals.

Guard Stephen Curry had a triple-double of his own but also committed eight turnovers.

Curry and Durant have been hailed as the best duo in the NBA but the Warriors guard said they were just trying to play good basketball.

"I'm not it's for us to debate," Curry said. "We're young, healthy, and playing a game we love."

With the win, the Warriors set an NBA record for most consecutive playoff victories at 14. They are now two wins away from making their case as the greatest team of all time.

Durant declined to comment on the winning streak, saying he was not going to take a step back until the team claims the Larry O'Brien trophy for its second time in three years.

"We're worried about the series right now," he told reporters.

"We're just trying to just stay in the moment."

James came out strong, with 18 first half points but struggled down the stretch on both ends of the floor, scoring just two fourth quarter points and turning the ball over four times.

The game's defining sequence came in the third quarter when Curry used a dazzling display of dribbling to dart past the much-bigger James and finish with a layup off the glass.

That basket pushed the Warriors lead to 10 as Curry let out a scream and the crowd went into a frenzy.

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Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates with forward Andre Iguodala (9) against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half in game two of the 2017 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

After the game James said that despite losing by 19 points, his team played better that in the first meeting.

"I thought for the most part with the game plan that we had we tried to execute it as close as possible," he told reporters after the game.

"Much more physical today than we were in Game One. And we forced them to 20 turnovers and they still beat us pretty good, so we got to be much better too," he said.

The game marked the return of Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who was sidelined earlier in April by persistent back pain following several surgeries. He said he intended to coach the team for the remainder of the best-of-seven series.

While the Warriors are looking strong they will no doubt be keen to keep their foot on the gas. They had a 3-1 lead over Cleveland in last year's Finals before the Cavs stormed back to win it in seven games.

Game Three is in Cleveland on Wednesday.

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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