Warriors 132, Cavaliers 113
June 4, 2017 • Oakland, California
Big ‘D’ in Durant
He Scores 33 and Blocks Cavs’ Path in Blowout
LeBron James had powerfully dragged the Cavaliers into a competitive fight in Game 2, but for a chance at an upset, he needed a sliver of help in the final eight minutes to take this series back to Cleveland tied.
So the Cavaliers cleared out and posted up Kevin Love on the thinner Kevin Durant. Love nailed Durant with a few power dribbles and rugged shoulders to the chest, but couldn’t move him much. So the big man settled for a 10-foot hook shot, a low-percentage look if he even got it off.
But he didn’t get it off. Durant rose with those tarantula arms and completely ate Love’s hook shot, palming it, staring Love down and then starting a fastbreak the other way. It was Durant’s fifth, final and most emphatic block, serving as the punctuation point of the Warriors’ 132-113 Game 2 win, sending them to Cleveland with a commanding 2-0 series lead.
“Kev’s defense was unreal,” Steve Kerr said. “Probably the key to the whole game.”
This latest Warrior win — pushing them to a record 14-0 in the playoffs — had everything:
• A Steve Kerr return to the sidelines, announced a couple hours before tip.
• A Stephen Curry triple-double, highlighted by a masterful dribbling exhibition that spun LeBron James into a circle before he scooped in a layup over his sledgehammer block attempt.
• A Klay Thompson breakout, his first game with four 3s since the first round against the Blazers, finishing the night with 22 points on only 12 shots.
Kevin Durant stuffs home two of his 33 points in Game 2. In a tremendous all-around performance, Durant also added 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and five blocks. (Ray Chavez/Staff)
But on a night where Draymond Green’s foul trouble sapped his usual impact and saddled him on the bench, Durant’s two-way dominance may have been the game’s most important factor.
To start the second and fourth quarters, when Green typically anchors the Warriors’ second-unit, Steve Kerr found his versatile forward in foul trouble. But he wanted to remain with a smaller lineup, pushing the pace and forcing Cleveland into matchup issues.
So he turned to Durant, riding him for a playoff-high 41 minutes and uncorking him as the center, something the Warriors have done very little of this season. It’s something they never could’ve done with Harrison Barnes, who is the size of a normal small forward. But Durant is a 7-foot pterodactyl, who has only gained strength and defensive guile during his first decade in the league.
“I don’t think there are many teams in the league where their backup (small-ball center) is better than their starter,” Green said. “So I think that’s a luxury we have with KD ... To say pick up the slack is kind of a ridiculous term because he’s a great player, an MVP, one of the best players in the world. So with me going out, it wasn’t like we were going to skip a beat with him right there taking over my minutes.”
Klay Thompson draws the foul on Kevin Love in the first quarter of the Game 2 blowout. Thompson contributed an efficient 22 points on eight of 12 shooting from the floor. (Ray Chavez/Staff)
Durant delivered his first highlight sequence midway through the first quarter. After Kyrie Irving slithered past Klay Thompson and sprung temporarily free for a 12-footer, Durant swooped in from the help-side to swat away the jumper. He scooped up the loose ball, pushed it upcourt and planted a transition 3. Then he backpedalled on defense and, moments later, ripped away LeBron’s dribble for one of his three steals.
“When Draymond went out, I just tried to do my best to help everybody out,” Durant said. “He’s so good at just sniffing out plays before they happen. And so I just tried to follow his lead with that. I learned so much from him throughout the season.”
That was only the first of Durant’s five blocks. He stoned a Channing Frye pick-and-roll layup attempt later in the first quarter, swiped a LeBron James’ driving floater out of bounds in the second quarter and rose to redirect an Iman Shumpert flying dunk attempt in the third, just after Green had left the game and he pushed to the center spot.
But nothing was quite as emphatic or symbolic of his defensive dominance than that fourth quarter block on Love. After a Cavaliers run, the Warriors had redirected momentum, pushed up 16 and were in need of one more big play to put LeBron and the lingering Cavaliers away.
Kevin Durant is congratulated by teammates as he comes to the bench in the fourth quarter of the win. (Ray Chavez/Staff)
Love went to the power dribble and soft hook. Then Durant rose, completely erased it and scooped up the loose ball.
“They think they got a mismatch and they’re trying to go at K in the post and he blocked the shot, get the rebound,” Draymond Green smiled.
Then Durant stopped for a moment and, in celebration, yelled in Love’s direction.
“See, that’s the big part for me, you know, he blocks a shot and start talking,” Green said. “That’s what got me hyped.”
But Durant wasn’t done. After enjoying the block for a second or two, he dribbled into the frontcourt, whizzed right by LeBron James with a crossover and then floated in a bank shot over a helpless Love. It put the Warriors up 18. It essentially put the game to rest.
Durant carried over his offensive rhythm from Game 1, scoring 33 points, sending down a couple emphatic dunks, nailing four 3s and handing out six assists. He made six of his nine shots when guarded by LeBron James, who otherwise imposed his will on this game.
“He took some contact and still finished the play,” Green said. “Those are the plays that kind of put you over the top, the plays that just bring life into a team. That’s the luxury that you have with K, where he get a block, he get the rebound, he don’t have to give the ball to nobody, he can go get a bucket. That was a huge play for us. Like you said, I think that’s where we kind of closed the game out with that play right there.”
In all, Durant finished with 33 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and those five blocks, joining Tim Duncan and Ralph Sampson as the only players to put up those stats in a playoff game. Add his three steals and Durant delivered a stat-line never seen in NBA history.
Kevin Durant snares a rebound surrounded by Cavs, one of his 13 boards in the game. (Ray Chavez/Staff)