The Golden State Warriors cruised to a 104-87 victory over the
Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the 2015-16 NBA Finals. Shaun
Lvingston and Andre Iguodala were the star men for the warriors as their
star duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson had their lowest scoring
game of the season. The Cavaliers scoring was dominated by the big
three of Lebron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. The 3
combined for 66 of their 89 points.
Both
teams started off brightly with good plays on the offensive and defensive ends.
Unlike last year’s finals, the Cavs had their best players on hand and were in
prime condition going into the finals. They began the game well on the offense
whilst restricting Thompson and Curry on the other end. Curry did manage to get
off 2 quick 3’s, but he would eventually have an off-scoring night. The
Warriors front-court did all the work in the first half, with Harrison Barnes
justifying his bump into the starting 5 by knocking three consecutive field
goals. Draymond Green seems to have found his focus back as he was immense on
the defensive end for the warriors. Despite a good run by golden state in the
1st quarter, they would end it only up by 4.
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| Livingston led the Warriors with 20 points. |
The
2nd quarter began with yet more joy for James and Coach Steve Kerr made
the adjustment, putting Andre Iguodala on James. The matchup, reminiscent of
last year’s finals is what ultimately turned the ball game in favour of the
warriors. Curry and Thompson’s off shooting game had no effect as the warrior
bench took centre stage and rose to the occasion. Shaun Livingston with some
tough shots off post-ups. He would ultimately finish with a playoff-career high
of 20 points (8/10 FG). The warriors would eventually end the first half with a
9 point lead.
The
second half began with a Cavaliers come-back as they tried to cut into the
lead. Kyrie Irving got finally rolling and he was making his shots and
important plays on the offensive end. A 9-4 run in favour of the Cavs, midway
through the 3rd quarter saw them take the lead for the first time since
the 1st minute of the game. This was followed by 6 consecutive changes in
lead. When Curry missed an open 3-PT, it looked like the momentum was now with
the cavaliers. But Iguodala on the defensive end, and Livingston on offence
made play after play sending the warriors on a 7-0 run to end the quarter.
The
fourth period of play saw some more magic from Livingston as the warriors
extended their scoring run to 21-0. With none of the Cavs bench or the other
starters contributing, their top three found it difficult to get their offense
going. The Warriors bench would eventually outscore the Cavs 45-9. A
mini-comeback by Cleveland midway in the 4th was sent to a halt as Curry
and Thompson both hit 3’s to send the stadium into frenzy.
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| The reigning finals MVP put in another inspiring performance. |
The
game re-emphasized the reason why Golden State Warriors are the reigning
champions. Without much contribution from their star players, they have the
quality in their bench to come out and make it happen. Iguodala, the finals MVP
last year is a direct-example of the Warriors motto “strength in numbers”, as
the star man has taken a demotion to the bench to further his teams cause.
As
for Cleveland, they will have to work more cohesively as a team and contribute
from all fronts if they want to stand any chance of winning the championship
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