OAKLAND, Calif. — LeBron James had been in a living hell four years ago, a barrage of messages finding a route into his phone and his mind. Here was James shying away from shots, darting uninformed passes and zoning out in crunch time back in 2011. He turned into a passionate wreak, needing to reconfigure his emotions for the game. The code of the NBA Finals never registered in those six games against the Dallas Mavericks, but rather in the summer and the training camp afterward where he needed to show everyone a fresh commitment, not sink in his feelings and crater as a player.

This is becoming Stephen Curry’s world now, the challenge of the Golden State Warriors’ guard in these Finals. James needed six title games and a summer in 2011 to revitalize the circuits in his body, to recoup his stability in mind, but every one of his old Miami Heat teammates understood the best lessons for LeBron permeated through failures and rigid critiques everywhere. When to make the precise passes, at the proper time. When to drive to the basket, when to shoot from outside.

“The way LeBron came back to us after the 2011 [Finals] series, I’ve never seen him like that,” James Jones told RealGM. “Emotionally and mentally. Even in defeat, he made strides.”

So here were Curry’s family members repeating over and over in a hallway inside Oracle Arena late Sunday: This is the best motivation for him. The 19 points, the six turnovers, and this loss for a 1-1 series tie. It all heightens here, Curry’s 18 of 23 shots missed including 13 errant three-pointers, and an air ball with the game on the line and the final turnover in overtime of a 95-93 defeat in Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James has had the monumental moment. Two of them on this Finals level, where games and players can tighten up the same way. He has carried the Cavaliers for two games so far — 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 rebounds on Sunday, a masterful control of pace and game.

He has elevated a cast of role players and cast-offs, of no-names and men shamed elsewhere, and it must remind many around the league of Allen Iverson in 2001. Only, James does it as a passer and scorer, a triple-threat able to score like Jordan, dish like Johnson and rebound like Chamberlain. All eyes on him. No future Hall of Famers around James now.

"[James] accepted any mistakes in 2011, and the entire sports world coming down on him,” Jones said. “Every superstar learns from this stage and the ups and downs.”

It is Curry’s turn now. All night, Matthew Dellavedova hounded Curry on defense, but there were jumpers to be made and passes to be handled better. From Derrick Rose to Curry, Dellavedova has forced opposing point guards to work when the ball is not in their hands. He’ll hold you, face guard and scrap to maintain positioning. Curry must work for spacing away from the play, create an extra step toward the rim as he did to send Game 2 into an overtime. Any offense from Dellavedova is extraordinary for the Cavaliers, and on this night it was nine points with a three-pointer and two critical free throws.

“Sometimes shots don’t go in,” Steve Kerr said. “It happens whether you’re the MVP or a role player.”

When it was over, James walked out of Oracle Arena in his white and red Jordan Brand shoes, content with his shot totals. Result has been one road win and a sustained dominance in this final. Cleveland has an opportunity without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love; scouts firmly believe their defense is better with Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson in their place.

James has his shooters, his kind of men. Timofey Mozgov has been a reliable force for the Cavaliers, and his $4.9 million team option for next season makes him the best non-rookie deal in the NBA aside from Stephen Curry. The Cavaliers had pursued several big men since last offseason, including the energetic Robert Sacre, and the possibility of DeAndre Jordan has long interested James, sources said. Mozgov is the man for the job now, though, a seven-footer with touch and defensive instinct.

All those referee calls infuriated the Warriors on Sunday, from the players to coaches to ownership. James had his run of Oracle. At one point during a timeout, Joe Lacob stepped away from his courtside seat and walked onto the field of play to discuss a call with Tony Brothers, leaving the conversation by waving his hands in the air as if to say, “Whatever, that’s bull.” In the end, James sent the basketball flying to the rafters as the buzzer sounded, slamming it as hard as his arms allowed.

“Hell no, that wasn’t the most emotion LeBron’s had,” Jones said. “I saw him in 2012, the emotion of his past losses. This entire experience is something different for him. LeBron’s the sole leader of this team. In Miami, he had two Hall of Famers.

“How far we go from here, he’s the man to take us.”

Part of James’ template against these Warriors players is the way he played Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City in 2012. Unafraid, unabashed. He was too comfortable, too undaunted. Within those close to Golden State’s locker room, this was the worry: LeBron creates leverage on the court, an edge against younger, rising players. He has played Curry physically, even when the whistle is blown, shoving his hands into Curry in Game 1 even as each team strolled to timeout.

Here was Curry’s chance to make the accurate shot and the precision pass — to emerge into Cleveland with a 2-0 series lead — and the best player in the game played the part in Games 1 and 2. A magnificent triple-double, a control of Curry’s home court and day-to-day queries into Curry’s life between now and Game 3. Four years ago, the moment of truth overwhelmed James, sent him spiraling into a summer of study. LeBron James has delivered his 2015 MVP predecessor a tutorial of lessons learned, and Stephen Curry’s Finals climax looms.