National Basketball Association
Golden State 110, Cleveland 77
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, June 5, 2016
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #19 James Capers, #48 Scott Foster
Attendance: 19596

OAKLAND, Calif. -- LeBron James figuratively awarded the game ball to Golden State Warriors standout Draymond Green on Sunday night.

Following a game in which James committed seven turnovers, it was fitting his handoff went to the other team.

Green bombed in five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 28 points and played a pivotal role in a Golden State defense that held the Cavaliers to their lowest postseason scoring output in eight years, leading the Warriors to a 110-77 drubbing in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

"Tonight he was one of us," Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson said in giving Green one-night "Splash Brothers" status. "He had an amazing game."

The Cavaliers lost not just a second consecutive game in the best-of-seven series but also power forward Kevin Love to a possible concussion after a second-quarter collision with Warriors forward Harrison Barnes.

Love left for good early in the third period after looking disoriented on the floor. He was placed in the NBA concussion protocol and is questionable for Game 3, which is scheduled for Wednesday in Cleveland.

"Well, losing one of our top three players is always going to be a big impact," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. "But right now he's in a concussion protocol, and right now he's just day-to-day.

Stephen Curry and Thompson rebounded from low-scoring efforts in Game 1 by producing 18 and 17 points, respectively, for Golden State.

The Warriors, who won the opener 104-89, set an NBA Finals record for total margin of victory -- 48 points -- in the first two games of the series.

"I'm not surprised because we've been such a great home team all year," Thompson said. "But I'll be surprised if we do it twice on the road, I'll tell you that much."

James had team-highs with 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were held to 72 points twice in the 2008 playoffs, including in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Boston.

However, James also committed a game-high seven turnovers, a stat he noted when shouldering much of the blame for the defeat.

"I got myself in a lot of trouble tonight," he said. "I said after Game 1 we just can't turn the ball over against a great team and expect to win, and I had basically half of the turnovers (through three quarters). I've got to be better."

The Warriors allowed the Cavaliers only 82 points in Game 4 of last year's Finals, a game Golden State won at Cleveland to even the series and begin a three-game winning streak that resulted in the championship.

Golden State hasn't lost to the Cavaliers since, including a 2-0 sweep in the regular-season home-and-home.

"I remember years ago (Boston Celtics guard) Danny Ainge had a great line after his team won by like 35 and they asked him about it," Warriors coach Steve Kerr noted. "Danny said it's not the Tour de France. We don't start out with like a 2 1/2-minute lead on the next leg. It's 2-0. Everything changes when we go to Cleveland."

Love's injury occurred late in the second period when he got hit in the back of the head by Barnes while reaching for a rebound.

After spending almost two minutes on the floor, Love convinced the Cavaliers' staff he was OK to continue.

He started the second half but experienced dizziness early in the third quarter and pulled himself from the game at the 9:54 mark.

He finished with five points and three rebounds, shooting just 2-for-7.

"They did what they're supposed to do. They won two games at home," Lue said. "This game got away from us, but we've got to get back home and do the same."

The Warriors led 55-46 at the time of the Love injury, but they took a bit of hit themselves when Curry was called for a fourth foul at the 8:42 mark. He left the game at that point.

However, Golden State didn't miss a beat with the NBA regular-season Most Valuable Player on the bench, getting two 3-pointers from Green and a third from Thompson while rolling up a 74-57 advantage with 2:36 remaining in the period.

The margin was 20 by quarter's end, and Golden State went on to lead by as many as 34 in a fourth quarter dominated by reserves.

"Our defense was the key to everything tonight," Kerr said. "I thought our guys did as good a job as we possibly could (against James) in terms of trying to cover him in penetration and stay with shooters at the same time."

Green (five), Curry (four) and Thompson (four) combined for 13 3-pointers as Golden State shot 15-for-33 (45.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

Green shot 11-for-20 overall and Curry 7-for-11, helping Golden State finish at 54.3 percent from the field.

"The way they're playing defense against our guards, Draymond's going to be open all day," Kerr said. "He's a good 3-point shooter. We like it when he gets that shot in rhythm."

James missed 10 of his 17 shots on a night when the Cavaliers were held to 35.4 percent shooting overall and 21.7 percent (5-for-23) on 3-pointers.

"I'm not disappointed in our guys or frustrated," James said. "We've just got to do a better job. They just beat us at everything. We didn't win anything."

Backup Richard Jefferson had 12 points and Kyrie Irving, despite 5-for-14 shooting, added 10 for the Cavaliers.

Cleveland, which won at Oakland in Game 2 of last year's Finals to even the series, finished with 18 turnovers. The Warriors had 21.

NOTES: The win was the Warriors' 87th of the regular season and playoffs, equaling the all-time NBA record set by the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96. ... The previous record for total margin of victory in the first two games of the Finals was 42 points, set by the 1950 Rochester Royals and tied by the 1961 Boston Celtics. ... Warriors C Andrew Bogut had a game-high five blocks to go with six rebounds in 15 minutes, helping Golden State record a dominant 46-34 advantage on the boards. ... Each team started the same lineup in Game 2 as it had in the series opener. ... A moment of silence was held before the game in honor of Muhammad Ali, who died Friday.
Top Game Performances
 
Cleveland   Golden State
LeBron James 19 Scoring Draymond Green 28
LeBron James 9 Assists Draymond Green 5
LeBron James 8 Rebounds Stephen Curry 9
LeBron James 4 Free Throws Made Festus Ezeli 2
LeBron James 4 Steals Andrew Bogut 2
Channing Frye 1 Blocks Andrew Bogut 5
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cleveland 77 35.4 5-23 16-24 15 34 3 15 18
Golden State 110 54.3 15-33 7-10 26 46 9 7 21
Upcoming Games
  • Golden State will play their next game on the road against Cleveland. The Warriors have a W/L % of .877 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Cleveland will play their next game at home against Golden State. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .690 after a win and .708 after a loss.