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. 

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.   

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:

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:

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 4-of-13 from the field.

Both guards continued to struggle early in the second half, but Andrew Bogut and Green both scored at the rim to give Golden State a 56-45 lead. Nate Duncan of The Cauldron was not impressed with the Cavaliers defense:

Even against that defense, the Cavaliers took advantage of Curry's struggles (2-of-10 with three turnovers at eight minutes remaining in the third). Cleveland used Tristan Thompson's offensive rebounding and Irving's quickness on an and-1 to cut the lead to 56-52. Golden State head coach Steve Kerr was so upset he smashed a whiteboard, per NBA.com:

Kerr's anger did not help counter the Cavaliers' resurgent offense, as Cleveland turned a double-digit deficit into a one-point lead at 66-65 with 3:18 left in the quarter. James directed the attack with crisp passes and timely baskets, but Thompson and Love fueled the run as well. 

The Warriors responded to challenges all season, and they did so again with a 9-2 spurt to end the third thanks to two baskets by Livingston and a three from Andre Iguodala (after Matthew Dellavedova hit him in the groin). Golden State took the 74-68 lead into the final quarter even though James, Irving and Love were outplaying Curry, Thompson and Green, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Golden State's bench players continued to pick up the slack early in the fourth. Barbosa and Livingston both hit multiple mid-range shots to put the Warriors up 88-72 with 8:35 remaining. Part of the issue for Cleveland was the failure to match the pace from the deeper Warriors, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today illustrated: 

The NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, Jamal Crawford, approved of the effort from the Warriors bench:

By the time Curry came back into the game with 6:08 left, Green was on the free-throw line making it a 94-76 advantage. Just for good measure, the two-time MVP found Iguodala on a beautiful no-look pass for a dunk and seemingly insurmountable 20-point lead.

Cleveland wouldn't go quietly, though, as it scored nine straight points to trim the lead to 96-85 with 3:45 left. James capped the run with a three-pointer, and Kawakami said, "Curry and Klay should just let Livingston shoot" as the Cavaliers clawed back into the contest.

However, the Splash Brothers showed up almost on cue and drilled two straight threes to push the lead back to 104-87 in the closing stretch and essentially end the game. Raphielle Johnson of NBC Sports recognized the sheer talent level of the Warriors allowed the two stars to hit the shots with the lead instead of from behind: 

Golden State put it on cruise control from there for the convincing victory.

What's Next?

Game 2 is Sunday in Oracle Arena.

It is easy to look at Golden State's dominant win and assume that will continue, but the Warriors won Game 1 in last year's Finals against Cleveland and proceeded to lose Game 2 on their home floor after James exploded for 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. 

The Cavaliers can look to that matchup as motivation, especially since the realistic goal of splitting in Golden State is still well within reach. 

Still, the Warriors were an overwhelming 39-2 at home this season and have now beaten Cleveland all three times in 2015-16, counting Thursday. They will likely also have an element of urgency in Game 2 after splitting the first two against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and then falling behind 3-1 with two road contests.

If Golden State comes out with that urgency Sunday, the Cavaliers will be in trouble.

Postgame Reaction

Even James recognized the importance of Golden State’s leading scorer Thursday, per Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated: “The game ball goes to [Livingston].”

NBA TV shared some of James’ other comments:

Fox Sports Ohio passed along Love’s take on the Game 1 loss:

On the other side, Livingston was humble after his impressive outing, per the Warriors: “It could be anyone on any given night.”

Curry praised the bench after the win, per NBA on ESPN: “We definitely get a boost when our bench guys come in and change the game.”

Green echoed similar sentiments, per the Warriors: “The one thing we always speak on is our depth, the depth of this team. And that showed tonight.”

While Golden State ultimately won in comfortable fashion, Kerr discussed his decision to break the whiteboard during a rough stretch, per Golliver: “Destruction tends to ease some of the anger. I try to take it out on a clipboard instead of a player.”

If the Warriors continue to play like they did down the stretch of Game 1, their coach won’t have to break anything the rest of the series.