The last time that Stephen Curry was at Quicken Loans Arena, he turned it into a crime scene. Ankles and hearts were broken, dreams were shattered and hopes were buried under a hail of threes. The city of Cleveland had to watch its heroes strive against the impossible and unenviable.
Before his return, Curry was quoted as saying: "Obviously, walking in the locker room, it'll be good memories." So far so good. The Warriors did win the championship there and who wouldn't want to relive that?
But then, in a line that defined his subtle heel turn, Curry added: "Hopefully, it still smells a little bit like champagne."
This infuriated the Cavaliers and their fans, even though Curry later said his quote was taken out of context and he did not mean it as a slight.
It was too late. Cleveland bloggers were upset. LeBron James insisted he had something to say about the quote when reporters shied away from quizzing him on it. Fists were slammed on tables at community meetings. Teeth were gritted and voices were raised in agreement. Something needed to be done. The city's pride was at stake. The Cavaliers needed to teach the brazen young point guard a lesson about respecting your opponents.
We can only imagine that before the game, Curry stepped off the team bus, sniffed the air and muttered this thought to himself.
"Fear. The city is rank with it. Let us ease their pain."
That's because he proceeded to rain hellfire down on those angry souls. Curry scored 35 points in three quarters and the Warriors ran the Cavaliers off their own court in embarrassing fashion.
Let's remember the stakes. Finals rematch? Check. Kyrie Irving finally healthy? Check. Curry, whether intentionally or not, invoking painful memories of loss for his opponent and their fans? Check. LeBron fired up to get revenge and make Curry pay? Check.
Then, the game starts and none of that mattered. Things got out of hand very quickly for the Cavaliers as Curry buried them so far deep that he spent the entire fourth quarter watching from the bench.
Maybe Curry's words didn't go far enough. He may as well have said that Trent Richardson was better than Jim Brown. Or that Arsenio Hall's show wasn't even all that to begin with. Or that James Garfield, Cleveland's only president, was so insignificant that you barely even remember him being in office.
Since Curry's initial comments elicited a mountain of backlash, it's only right to compare his best highlights to other mean statements about Cleveland.
A steal of a Kevin Love pass that led to a fastbreak layup with Kyrie Irving defending? Cleveland's hopes of winning the title are as realistic as a successful Raz-B solo career.
A three over Matthew Dellavedova -- the so-called Curry stopper -- and Timofey Mozgov, followed by a beating of the chest after the ball went in? Cleveland most famous TV personality right now is Steve Harvey. Yes, this guy.
A casual dribble up the court and launched bomb from the edge of the Cavaliers' logo? Hue Jackson is the perfect man to lead the Browns to 7-9.
Running LeBron, J.R. Smith and Mozgov into each other on a screen and swishing another three? Cleveland's most famous attraction is a building dedicated to talented people not actually from Cleveland.
A final corner three, punctuated by the arm hanging while staring at the crowd? The Museum of Contemporary Art should hold an exhibit with the records of the city's sports teams as a show of existential dread.
The saddest part was how LeBron, watching this onslaught, could no longer take it. Human frustration comes when personal ambition is at odds with an unyielding reality. That's why LeBron made this face.
This Vine is the human representation of the futility of life. You try and work your hardest only to have life make a mockery of your efforts and laugh at you as you watch your world crumble. Of course Curry got a layup on the next possession.
Thankfully for Cavaliers fans, the beatdown eventually had to end. Whether the loss revealed more than a normal midseason game is a worthwhile discussion. Maybe it speaks to the Warriors' strength that they turned a Finals rematch into a blowout. Maybe it's a cruel indictment of the Cavaliers' stagnant offense, hapless pick and roll defense or over-reliance on LeBron.
But those things aren't important. What's important is that Stephen Curry pissed Cleveland off with one innocent quote, yet their anger still wasn't enough to catapult the Cavaliers into the Warriors' league.