Especially in our age of sports analytics (yes, Charles Barkley) the box score contains a narrative. Cleveland held Golden State to just 93 points — even with the overtime — in the Game 2 Cavaliers win. Golden State is averaging 103.9 in the playoffs.
Another easy thing to spot: Golden State is the “deep team” in this series with big bench contributions, while Cleveland is more reliant on its starters. At least that’s the storyline. But Cleveland used an 8-man rotation to Golden State’s 9-man rotation, despite all the injuries (Irving, Love) Cleveland has suffered. Reserve guard Matthew Dellavedova started in Irving’s place, and not only made clutch free throws and bottled up MVP Steph Curry on D, he played 42 minutes after averaging 20 minutes this season and less in the playoffs. Also note: the Warriors had only 16 assists to the Cavs 14. The Warriors ranked #1 in the NBA this year with 27 assists per game.