Well, that was fun.
It took overtime, but the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-100 and took a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
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The Warriors struggled mightily in the first quarter falling behind by double digits early. Perhaps jitters got to the Warriors as the Cavs completely out hustled the Dubs. Tristan Thompson grabbed 7 first quarter rebounds. The Warriors started to shift momentum when Andre Iguodala ended the quarter with a big slam cutting the deficit to just ten.
One of the biggest factors in this series is the matchup of the benches and Golden State’s did what they’re supposed to do. Iguodala, Festus Ezeli, and Marreese Speights provided plenty of energy and came up with big plays. Iguodala scored 15 points making big plays on both sides of the ball.
Of course, the biggest factors in this series are LeBron James and Stephen Curry and they did not disappoint. James scored 44 on 18-38 shooting. The Warriors used several defenders to give him different looks, but Iguodala was his primary defender, mainly in the post. Curry dropped 26 points on 10-20 shooting.
The second half was a back and forth between the Warriors and James. The fourth quarter, down the stretch, saw key players make big plays. Both teams’ second options were effective, as Kyrie Irving added 23 points and Klay Thompson put up 21.
With 53 seconds left, Curry took James off the dribble, crossed him over, froze him, and sunk a jumper over him. Later, with just 26 seconds left, the Warriors inbounded the ball and eventually put it in Curry’s hands. He drove past the defense and it looked like he had a wide open layup, but Irving recovered and got his fingertips on the ball. On the other end, James ran down the clock and missed a step back jumper over Iguodala. The loose ball bounced to Iman Shumpert who threw up a prayer that ticked iron at the buzzer.
Overtime was all Golden State. The Cavaliers looked fatigued and the Warriors took control. Ezeli, who Steve Kerr said was only out there for the tipoff, secured two rebounds before Harrison Barnes came in for him. The Warriors went small and the Cavaliers couldn’t handle the firepower. The Cavs missed 10 of their last 11 field goals (a James layup with 9 seconds).
The Warriors ended up winning the rebound battle 48-45 after losing it early on. The Dubs moved the ball better finishing with 24 assists to Cleveland’s 19. Surprisingly, neither team really shot the gal well from three as Golden State and Cleveland finished with 10 and 9 respectively.
The biggest storyline moving forward will be the health of Irving who left the game in overtime after his knee seemed to give out on him. He limped to the locker room and was in visible pain.
The Warriors will look to take a 2-0 lead on Sunday.