Cavaliers vs. Warriors: Game 1 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Finals

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson got the Golden State Warriors to the NBA Finals with incredible shooting against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the grueling Western Conference Finals. The supporting cast rewarded the Splash Brothers on Thursday in Game 1 of the Finals.

The Warriors cruised to a 104-89 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena despite poor shooting performances from both Curry and Thompson. Curry was 4-of-15 on his way to 11 points, while Thompson scored nine on 4-of-12 shooting. But the Golden State bench led the way. 

Warriors hustle the Cavs in Game 1https://t.co/AtJ7S7Ryjc

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 3, 2016

According to Warriors PR, Golden State’s bench outscored Cleveland’s 45-10. Shaun Livingston scored a team-high 20 points, while Andre Iguodala added 12 and Leandro Barbosa chipped in 11. Seven different Warriors players scored in double figures, and Draymond Green tallied a double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.   

Share Tweet

The Big Three were solid in defeat for the Cavaliers. LeBron James nearly posted a triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, while Kyrie Irving poured in 26 points. Kevin Love added a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, but it was not enough to counteract the Warriors’ role players.

Golden State picked up right where it left off in the Western Conference Finals and jumped out to a 14-9 lead less than five minutes into the game. Harrison Barnes hit his first three shots and was finding lanes to the rim, while Curry drilled an early three. Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News described the Warriors’ offensive strategy in the initial stretch of the game:

Warriors want to attack everybody in transition but clearly especially the Cavs when they’ve got Love and Kyrie out there.

— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) June 3, 2016

The Warriors used that approach to seize a 28-24 lead by the end of the first quarter, although Cleveland had briefly closed the gap to two after baskets from James, Iman Shumpert and Irving. 

Any momentum the Cavaliers had at the end of the first quickly disappeared in the second when Golden State extended the lead to 41-29 in the first five minutes. Barbosa spearheaded a run off the bench with seven quick points on 3-of-3 shooting. Ben Axelrod of Bleacher Report commented on the flurry of scoring from Barbosa instead of the defending champions’ usual suspects:

The Warriors dynasty is going to be so confusing when Iguodola and Barbosa have their two Finals MVP trophies.

— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) June 3, 2016

Despite the double-digit lead, the Warriors lost Thompson for the rest of the half when he picked up his third foul with six minutes, 10 seconds left in the second. What’s more, Barbosa suffered a “tweaked” back, per Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group, and had to temporarily go to the locker room.

With the Warriors lineup in brief flux, Cleveland trimmed the lead to 49-43 before Green drilled a three-pointer in the final minute to give the home team a 52-43 halftime advantage. While the Cavaliers were within single digits, Curry and Thompson were only a combined …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com