The Golden State Warriors have taken a 1-0 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals after a big Game 1 victory.
The world waited nearly a whole year for this. The Golden State Warriors waited for a whole year for this. And it felt good to get this one.
The Warriors lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals on their own court. Since then, they have not lost a postseason game. They are a perfect 13-0, continuing that streak with a 113-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
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Both teams were very emotional and it reflected in their play early on. They were both sloppy in the opening minutes, but then the Warriors were able to push the pace. They started to run.
The Cavaliers couldn’t keep up. Their transition defense was awful. They allowed Kevin Durant to walk down the lane whenever he wanted for a dunk. He had six slam dunks in the first half.
Golden State’s superstars were fantastic in this one. Durant had 38 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Stephen Curry had 28 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds. Draymond Green only scored 9 points, but he also had 11 points, 2 steals, and 1 block. Klay Thompson did not shoot the ball well, but his defense was amazing.
The Warriors were very efficient in this one. They shot the ball well, but what they did especially well was take care of the ball. They had 31 assists and just 4 turnovers, two of them coming from Curry in consecutive possessions.
The Warriors did what they wanted in Game 1. It was a great start. They were focused and, mostly, disciplined.
This series is just beginning, obviously. There’s still a lot of basketball left to play–no one knows this more than Golden State. But this is how you want to get going.