A day before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, Stephen Curry joked that he hoped the visiting locker room still smells like champagne.
Apparently, that rubbed LeBron James and the Cavaliers the wrong way, and that brought on some unexpected anticipation heading into the contest on TNT.
Other than an unnecessary shove of Curry by James early in the contest, however, there wasn’t much to feel intense about in this one, as the Warriors steamrolled through the Cavaliers 132-98 and led by as much as 40 points.
Curry toyed with the defense on his way to 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field – including 7-of-12 from the arc – five rebounds, four assists and three steals in just three quarters. Draymond Green also did all of his damage in three quarters with 16 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists and two blocks, while Andre Iguodala showed his Finals MVP form with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field.
The Cavaliers were looking to make a statement after suffering a tough loss against the San Antonio Spurs last week. They were demoralized on their own home floor instead, leaving plenty of questions on what it would take for them to win it all this season.
Plenty saw the surprising blowout game and reacted accordingly on twitter:
Does KLove even try on D?
— al harrington (@cheddahcheese7) January 19, 2016
Lol all that kyrie talk got Steph goin.. How quick they wanna forget smh
— Jordan Crawford (@jcraw55) January 19, 2016
I know it’s reg. season but SA was creeping closer + closer to GSW and GSW needed to kick a contender’s ass to retain alphadogness… so…
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) January 19, 2016
Golden State: Five guys on the floor playing as a team. Cavs: Five guys on the floor playing one on one.
— Tim S. Grover (@ATTACKATHLETICS) January 19, 2016
Golden State out here like they are in the playgrounds!
— Kenny Anderson (@chibbs_1) January 19, 2016
STEPH
— nick vanexel (@vanexel31) January 19, 2016
Guess that locker room still smells like champagne!!!! . @StephenCurry30 vs @KingJames #cavsvswarriors @ESPNNBA
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) January 19, 2016
Quite a statement by the Warriors tonight. Complete dominance in Cleveland. Bulls will have their hands full on Wednesday.
— Scottie Pippen (@ScottiePippen) January 19, 2016
“If Cleveland wants to dump Kevin Love’s contract, we’re right here!” pic.twitter.com/VF6zQaHfai
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) January 19, 2016
Golden State with the lopsided win, let Cleveland know that even if the Cavs were at full strength, they still would’ve won the championship
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 19, 2016
The Warriors sent the whole league a message tonight, that they are on a mission to win the championship again this season.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 19, 2016
So much for Cavs proving something. Dubs embarrassed them‼️ Steph, Draymond, Iggy awesome @warriors @StephenCurry30 @Money23Green @ESPNNBA
— Rick Barry (@Rick24Barry) January 19, 2016
Jim Park is a blogger and Tweet of the Night author of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.