Stephen Curry backpedaled in pure joy. He skipped http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jeremiah-attaochu-jersey , hollered and let the ball fly from everywhere with that feeling he gets when there’s no way it will miss – unwavering even with a defender’s hand in his face.
Curry dazzled in outdueling LeBron James as the two superstars traded big shots and celebratory moves, hitting an NBA Finals-record nine 3-pointers and scoring 33 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 122-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night for 2-0 lead.
”Pretty special night,” Curry said, ”and hopefully some more special things happen and we get two more wins.”
Kevin Durant found his steady stroke to score 26 points to go with nine rebounds and seven assists while also handling a load of the defensive assignment against James. Klay Thompson added 20 points playing on a tender left leg to put the defending champions two wins from a repeat title they have talked about since the season began last fall.
James followed up his 51-point performance in Game 1 with 29 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds in a far tamer finals sequel – and a much more lopsided one – minus the utter craziness of a drama-packed opener three days prior.
Game 3 is Wednesday night in Cleveland.
”We want to continue to be uncomfortable,” James said. ”Just because we’re going home doesn’t mean we can relax.”
Kevin Love had 22 points and 10 boards for the cold-shooting Cavs, who will now try to gain some momentum back home.
Curry had the shot of the night with 7:54 to play, making an off-balance swish from several feet behind the 3-point arc over Love as the shot clock wound down, then scooted backward in delight. Curry fell into the first row of fans with a baseline 3 again over Love and four-point play at the 5:44 mark of the fourth.
”He’s a big shot taker, big shot maker,” Draymond Green said. ”Tough shot taker, tough shot maker.”
The long shot over Love stood out to Curry’s Splash Brother, Thompson.
”About seven seconds on the clock he just kept going backward, I don’t know why, but he just threw it up and I didn’t think it had any chance of going in http://www.redskinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-pernell-mcphee-jersey ,” Thompson said. ”That was kind of like a dagger shot. It just gave us all the momentum back.”
The two-time MVP made 11 of 26 shots and was 9 for 17 from deep.
James pointed with both hands after his 3 with 11:04 remaining got his team within seven, before Curry answered from deep the next two trips down the floor.
”Those moments when you can come down and answer and keep the momentum on our side, it’s big,” Curry said. ”Keep the crowd into it.”
Curry and James had a tense moment in the third, too.
James became irate at the officials for a no-call on Curry, who ran beneath the Cavs star and didn’t let him land with 3:54 remaining in the quarter as James caught Love’s long pass and went out of bounds. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was hit with a technical, saying afterward he didn’t say much but was on the court.
JaVale McGee scored 12 points, making all six of his shots in his first career NBA Finals start as Kerr made a lineup switch that proved spot on.
The typically efficient Durant connected on 10 of 14 shots after going just 8 for 22 – 1 of 7 on 3s – in the opener but still scoring 26 points.
Last year’s NBA Finals MVP made his initial five field goals Sunday, driving right at James on offense and doing all he could to fluster him on defense.
James hit a 3 over Durant’s outstretched arm midway through the third, then Tristan Thompson’s basket the next possession pulled the Cavs within 72-66. But they couldn’t contain Curry and the rest of the Warriors for extended stretches.
The Warriors vowed to make it harder for James to generate good looks after he shot 19 for 32 in the series opener, and James went 12:06 of game time between made baskets.
James went 10 for 20, showing few signs his shot was altered by a bloodshot left eye. He had been taking antibiotics and using drops after being poked in the eye by Green in the first half Thursday.
The Warriors earned a wacky 124-114 overtime win in Game 1 Thursday night – featuring J.R. Smith’s blunder when he grabbed an offensive rebound in the waning moments of regulation and dribbled back toward halfcourt rather than shooting for the victory, and an overturned charge call against James.
Smith received rousing cheers from the home fans during pregame introductions and ”M-V-P!” chants greeted him when he went to the foul line.
Thompson played after bruising his lower left leg when Smith slid into him in the first quarter Thursday. The Warriors All-Star has never missed a postseason game.
Kerr went with 7-foot big man McGee to start in place of Kevon Looney – McGee’s 10th career start in the postseason.
McGee scored the first four points as Golden State made its initial seven shots and 10 of 11.
Another key role player, Shaun Livingston, made his five field-goal tries for 10 points to give Golden State a lift in the first half after making all four of his shots Thursday.
”They’re a dangerous ballclub no matter what Pernell McPhee Color Rush Jersey ,” James said. ”It starts with those four guys, those four All-Stars. Everybody else just does their job and they don’t miss a beat when they put someone in or they take someone out.”
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: James’ first-half line: 15 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, two steals. His first points – the first for Cleveland – came on a goaltend by McGee. … Eric Staal was coming off his least productive NHL season since he was a teenage rookie with Carolina when Minnesota took a flier on him two summers ago to add some depth at center.
The three-year contract was modest for a player with Staal’s ability and accomplishments. The expectations were, too. Three consecutive seasons of decline in points per game, after all, don’t provide a hint that the scoring touch or passing knack is primed for resurgence.
Bruce Boudreau could see the rebound potential, though. His first day of training camp with the Wild happened to be Staal’s practice debut with his new club, and a strong impression was made on the new head coach.
”I said, `You know what? Everybody was wrong,”’ Boudreau said. ”Because he did the skate test on the very first day, and he blew everybody out of the water. So I said to the staff, `He should be able to play for us.”’
Staal has done much more for the Wild than simply prove he can keep up and stabilize a key position with some savviness and leadership. Nobody on the team has scored more since he arrived, and with 40 goals this season he’s tied for sixth in the league through Monday’s games.
”I never thought a specific number was a goal. I don’t ever usually think like that http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-billy-price-jersey ,” Staal said. ”Once you start a season, it can go a lot of different ways, but once the puck starts hitting the back of the net and you’re gaining confidence that way, you want to hold on to it as long as you can and accumulate as much as you can to help your team win.”
Staal became just the second player in NHL history, joining Gordie Howe, to record a 40-goal season at least nine years apart with none in between. Slumps can factor into that, but so does dedication.
”Look, he’s won a Stanley Cup. He’s won an Olympic medal. He’s got all the money that he’s ever going to need,” Boudreau said. ”But when he came here he wanted to prove to the world that he’s still a really good player, and to me he has.”
The lanky 33-year-old with the left-handed shot has been a big reason why the Wild, despite some rough patches of the schedule and significant injury absences by several of their best skaters, have clinched a spot in the playoffs for the sixth straight season.
”You want that, especially as a player who’s in the second half of his career. You want to make sure you’re in a spot to try to win again, and coming here I felt gave me that chance,” said Staal Kolton Miller Color Rush Jersey , the second overall pick in the 2003 draft who won the Stanley Cup in 2006 at age 21 but only returned to the playoffs once more with the Hurricanes. ”We’ve still got some work to do here, but hopefully we can finish strong.”
Staal only has one goal-less stretch on his ledger longer than four games in a row, when he played six consecutive contests without scoring from Jan. 9-22. He still contributed four assists over that span. Not coincidentally, the Wild have only one losing streak larger than two. They dropped three in a row from Nov. 4-8.
”He’s a guy we’ve definitely looked to to help lead us,” said left wing Jason Zucker, one of the many linemates Staal has saddled up to this season – without, Boudreau said beamingly, a single complaint.
Durability has been one crucial component of his value, of course. Staal has yet to miss a game since signing the $10.5 million deal on July 1, 2016. The emotional steadiness he has contributed can’t be overlooked, either.
”He’s been through the best of teams. He’s been through the worst of teams. He’s been the leader on all of these teams,” Boudreau said. ”He’s had to make sure he’s the steady one, because if he gets too high, maybe the rest of the group gets too high. If he was one to get too low, maybe everybody else would follow his lead.”
The Wild actually left Staal exposed in the expansion draft Authentic Martin Fehervary Jersey , banking on his age being less attractive to the Vegas Golden Knights. His salary cap hit is only the ninth-highest on the roster.
”If he was playing in Toronto, he’d be up for the MVP,” Boudreau said.
Settling in Minnesota was more than satisfying for Staal, with the perennial postseason opportunities and the relative proximity to his hometown of Thunder Bay, Manitoba, about a six-hour drive away. He and his wife, Tanya, have been able to raise sons Parker, Levi and Finley, in a similar northern culture and climate that he was raised in, delighting in seeing the boys at 8, 6 and 3 years old take to the local hockey rinks or eagerly hop on their sleds after the latest snowfall.
”All that stuff I grew up doing and loving, and now I’m kind of living it back through them,” Staal said. ”It’s definitely made it a ton of fun.”
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