132–113. After the Cavaliers had easily dispatched the Grizzlies in the previous game, the Grizzlies delivered an unexpectedly dominant performance as well.
After all, the Cavaliers had cruised through the Eastern Conference.
In the first round, against Paul George's Pacers, the Cavaliers swept them 4–0 with ruthless efficiency.
In the second round, against the Raptors, who had posted an outstanding regular-season record, the Cavaliers won three of the four games by double digits.
Though they lost one game against the Celtics in the third round, the feeling was that the Cavaliers only needed to exert themselves a little to push the margin to 30 points at any time!
That was the Cleveland Cavaliers, the undisputed kings of the East. No Eastern Conference team could survive James's assault.
They did not even have the slightest hope of winning.
Although most people believed the Grizzlies were slightly stronger than the Cavaliers on paper, they were only slightly stronger.
After all, there was no questioning the dominance the Cavaliers had displayed in the East.
No one had expected the gap between the two sides to be so enormous once the Cavaliers no longer had the boost of miraculous three-point shooting.
After Game 2 of the Finals, the fans were all deeply disappointed.
They suddenly realized that the most exciting series of this year's playoffs had likely ended along with the Western Conference Finals.
Some fans even said, "It's unfair to have the best team in the East and the best team in the West compete for the championship. It would be fairer for the first and second seeds in the West to compete for it."
That might hurt the feelings of many Eastern Conference fans, but it was true.
The Grizzlies' previous Western Conference Finals against the Warriors had been far more entertaining