The NBA loves this. The Golden State Warriors are in the NBA Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers are facing them in back-to-back years and are healthier than they were in the previous meeting. The Splash Brothers accomplished the unthinkable, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit in the Western Conference Finals to make it back to the championship. The script couldn’t have been written any better.
While the Warriors may be the more experienced team on the court (you know, considering all those injuries to the Cavs Big 3 last year), that doesn’t mean they would come out dominating the Cavs out of the gate. It was actually not like that at all.
LeBron James came out swinging, taking Dub Nation straight to the paint and bodying anyone guarding him in the first quarter. It actually kept the Cavs in the game from the start, when both teams were actually playing sloppy.
By halftime, JR Smith hadn’t taken a shot, Love was struggling to get fouls called as he went up for shots and Kyrie Irving was not as effective as the team expected. King James was struggling to get help from the rest of his team, but Cleveland stayed within distance and didn’t let the game get carried away.
On the other side of the ball, Golden State wasn’t completely dominating, especially the Splash Brothers, who were not up to their typical gun-slinging selves. The rest of the team was contributing, though.
In the third quarter, shit got real and the Cavs even took the lead for a second, with both teams trading buckets back and forth in a great game.
Then Matthew Dellavadova hit Andre Iguodala in the nuts and shit changed.
By the time you knew it, Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa were completely snapping off against the Cavs Big 3 off the bench, taking over the game like nobody expected.
Then when Klay Thompson and Steph Curry finally got involved and started going on a run, it was a wrap.
The Golden State bench outscored the Cavs 45-10 on the night, thanks to great performances from unsung heroes like Livingston and Barbosa, who always provide that spark when it counts.
For the Cavs, Irving ended with 26 points to lead the team on the night, while LBJ had 23 points and 9 assists of his own. Kevin Love also dropped a double double with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Curry and Thompson had a quiet game, scoring only 11 and 9 points respectively, but the rest of the squad did their part, with Livingston leading all Warriors scorers with 20. Iguodala also had 12, while Draymond Green finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Game 2 is Sunday in Oakland at 8:00pm EST.
FINAL: GS 104 | CLE 89