Game 2 was never close and the series heads back to Cleveland the Cavs in control.
Somehow, Friday night’s Game 2 against the Boston Celtics was even easier for the Cleveland Cavaliers than their Game 1 win.
In a 130-86 win, the Cavs lead from their first field goal of the game — a Kyrie Irving floater 57 seconds into the game. In the first, Cleveland outscored Boston 32-18. In the second, with LeBron James back his normal place with the bench to start the period, the Cavs outscored the Celtics 40-13 to take a 72-31 lead at the half. James lead the Cavs with 22 first half points, Kevin Love added 18 points and Irving chipped in 14 points.
The half ended when J.R. Smith collected an offensive rebound with one second left and flung in a shot as he faded away. The Cavs’ 41 point halftime lead is a new NBA record for the biggest halftime lead in NBA history.
Boston didn’t cross the 50 point mark until 3:43 in the third quarter when Al Horford hit a three-pointer. Bad news for Boston came when Isaiah Thomas hurt his hip in the first half and did not return for the second half. He finished with two points in 18 minutes. The Cavs’ lead hit the 50 point mark when Deron Williams hit a layup with 9:59 to play in the fourth quarter.
With the Cavs up 99-53, James, Irving and Love all checked out with 1:47 to play in the third quarter. James finished with 30 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three blocks. Love finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Irving finished with 23 points and three assists. He also was 3-6 from three after shooting 0-3 from deep in Game 1. As a team, shot 56.5 percent from the field and 48.7 percent from three.
With another dominant win for Cleveland, the series almost feels over. Yes, the Cavs still have to win two more games. And, yes, anything could happen. But barring LeBron getting hurt or some other cataclysmic event, there does not seem to be a change Boston can make to make the series any closer. Game 3 is Sunday in Cleveland. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena.