OAKLAND, Calif. -- It was inevitable. In a season defined by inevitability, what transpired at Oracle Arena on Sunday night was inevitable. It was always going to happen.

Klay Thompson wasn't going to miss forever.

Despite a Superman effort by LeBron James, the Warriors beat the Cavaliers by 19 points Sunday, stretching their series lead to 2-0 and their playoff record to 14-0. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry were the stars. They're the ones with the highlight-reel blocks (KD) and assists (Steph). The Warriors' MVP duo -- arguably the deadliest combination ever -- and what they did to the Cavaliers (torched their upset hopes to the ground) will overshadow another equally important development.

Thompson shot the heck out of the ball for the first time in what feels like forever. Scratch that: It doesn't feel like forever. It has actually been forever, at least by Thompson's heightened standards.

In the Warriors' first 13 playoff games, while they steamrolled an inferior field, Thompson shot 36.6 percent overall and 33.8 percent from 3. Before Sunday night, he hadn't made more than three 3s in a playoff game since the third game of their first-round series against the Blazers. In Game 1 on Thursday, he went 3-for-16, including 0-for-5 from 3-point land.

On Sunday, he made four 3s on seven attempts. In 37 minutes, he scored 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting. He's back.

It was inevitable, but that doesn't mean it didn't feel extra sweet to see the shots fall. From Thompson's postgame interview:

Q: "Some of your shots were close to falling in Game 1. Did you feel like tonight they were going to go in?"

Thompson: "I feel like that every night. As a shooter, you have to. You have no choice but to [feel that way]. For me, it did feel good to see the ball go in."

Visual evidence:

Those shots mattered. One statistic can't capture an entire game -- well, except total points -- but the Warriors made 10 more 3s than the Cavaliers, which is the biggest reason why they overcame 20 turnovers. Without Thompson's 3s, the Warriors are looking at a much different game.

This was inevitable. Mainly because he's Klay Thompson -- a career 41.9 percent 3-point shooter. But also because he has been such a force on the defensive end of the floor. The bad times were never going to last. Just ask Steve Kerr.

From Kerr's pregame press conference:

Q. "So Klay's had stretches like this before where he hasn't really been making all his shots. I think he was 3-for-16 last game. Do you do anything differently with him? Do you say anything, or is there anything that gets him out of it?"

Kerr: "No, I'm a big believer that when you play really well, if you don't shoot well, but you play well, it's just a matter of time before the shot comes. I thought he played exceptionally well in Game 1. 3-for-16, notwithstanding, that's what -- the numbers are going to show that, but the defense was tremendous, his decision-making with the ball, drive and kick game, he made great decisions all game, played with force. He had probably four shots go in and out watching the tape, literally like one-inch long, right on the back rim, right on line, rattling out.

"You can kind of tell, it's almost like a baseball player hitting line drives at people. Like, OK, he may have gone 0-for-4, but he had two line drives to the shortstop. Like it's coming. That's my take on Klay."

The line drives turned into home runs on Sunday. Just as important, he continued his run of shutdown defense.

What he does on the defensive end might be as flashy as Durant's contributions (hello, block city) or Draymond Green's Defensive Player of the Year tape, but here's what Thompson did in the playoffs before Sunday:

Here's what he did in Game 1:

And here's what he did defensively on Sunday, as described by Kerr:

His defense again was tremendous. I thought Klay, he guards so many people out there and he has such a responsibility with Kyrie and switching onto LeBron, and I thought he was fantastic.

Thompson taking Kyrie Irving out of the game is equally as important as his shooting. The Cavaliers can't win without their Big 3 hanging tough with the Warriors' Big 4. James has been his normal great self. Kevin Love has been exceptional. Irving has been subpar. Thompson didn't guard Irving the entire game -- he doesn't deserve all of the credit for Irving's woes -- but it's worth noting that Irving shot 8-for-23. Thompson has something to do with it.

Thompson's not just continuing to shape his legacy as one of the most accurate sharpshooters ever. He's also showing (those who didn't already know) that he's one heck of a shutdown defender. It's always been unfair for Thompson that he's been so good at those two aspects of basketball and he's still not even the best shooter or defender on his own team. That's not his fault. There's no one in league history better at shooting than Curry and no one in the NBA better at defending than Green. There's no shame in finishing second to those players.

So, don't overlook what this kind of performance means for him. As Thompson struggled, Curry experienced a God-like playoff run, shaking the silly narrative that the biggest stage might've been too big for him after what happened last June. Durant, who has the most to prove in this series, has outplayed James on both ends. Draymond Green is still Draymond Green, arguably the Warriors' most important player. 

Thompson appeared to be the man left behind. The forgotten one. The only Warrior not living up to lofty standards.

Not anymore. Thompson's Game 2 performance shouldn't be overlooked like his Game 1 defensive gem, which was forgotten due to his inability to knock down an open jumper. Luckily, because he drilled his shots this time, it won't be.

On Sunday, Thompson was everything the Warriors need him to be and everything the Cavaliers need him not to be if they have any shot at taking four of the next five games. On Sunday, the inevitable happened. On Sunday, Klay Thompson was finally Klay Thompson again.