Rihanna was not seen courtside as she was in Game 1, but this NBA Finals re-rematch of your Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers saw the return of a much more important figure head coach Steve Kerr, who’d been out since early May with complications from spinal surgery. And the Warriors welcomed Kerr back with a lopsided 132-113 win over the ugly short-sleeved-shirt-clad Cavs, taking a 2-0 lead in these NBA Finals. Golden State remains perfect in this postseason, and with a record-setting 14-0 playoff record this year they’re doing something very, very special.
One figured the Warriors would get an emotional lift if Kerr was able to come back and coach the team again, and the Oracle roar of his return can be seen above. Any sentimental boost in any seven-game championship series is obviously of massive value, but in Kerr’s case the game-time decision was especially meaningful given concerns he might never be able to coach again. "My guys did OK while I was gone," Kerr joked to NBA.com before the game, referring to interim coach Mike Brown’s perfect playoff record. “What's our record now without me, like 800-12?”
Steph Curry just cooked LeBron 👀 pic.twitter.com/C0KgqmALya
— NBA Lowdown (@NBALowdown) June 5, 2017
These are the fully operational Death Star Dubs, with Kevin Durant (33 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots that constituted pretty much the game’s only defense) leaving LeBron and Co. without answers and opening up all manner of offensive opportunities for Steph Curry (32 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists). Above we see Steph juke LeBron out of his Nike contract with an early third quarter highlight that effectively extinguished the Cavs’ halftime hopes.
Steph Curry: "4th quarter, oh you mean nap time?" pic.twitter.com/Zsk2s3xOL5
— Warriors Talk (@JaeAzizi) June 5, 2017
"They're a different team. You guys asked what was the difference and I told you..."
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 5, 2017
LeBron James reacts to Game 2 loss. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/1ECBoYz0Vm
Hulking but ineffective villain LeBron James seemed to get a little testy after the game, declining to conduct the typical press conference at a podium and instead just taking questions in the locker room. When asked about defending home court in Game 3, James seems peeved at the reporter. “Are you a smart guy?," he snapped. "Think so, right? If we don’t defend home court, what happens? I’m asking you.”
“I just need some food and some wine,” LeBron sighed in response to another question from ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.
The Warriors, meanwhile, are thinking champagne as they sit two wins away from another championship in a postseason in which they’ve hardly been challenged. But it is incumbent on the Dub Sack to remind you that Golden State went up 2-0 last year to these same Cavaliers before an obviously rigged set of factors led to dashed title hopes. That notwithstanding, the addition of Kevin Durant looks to have rigged this year’s Finals well in the Warriors’ favor.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday, June 7 at 6 p.m. PDT, and will be televised on ABC.
Related: Apple VP Eddy Cue Reportedly Yells At Rihanna To 'Sit Down' During Game 1