The Golden State Warriors are Shaun Livingston’s ninth National Basketball Association team.
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Golden State’s Harrison Barnes is quickly becoming a problem for Cleveland in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. They were out for revenge, after falling to Golden State in six games during last year’s finals and two regular-season games earlier this year.
(AP Photo/Ben Margot). Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala, right, reaches for the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James during the first half of Game 1 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, June 2, 2016.
Where’s The LeBron James-Stephen Curry Rivalry?
Against Cleveland in Game 1? The Warriors won 104-89 behind great play from their bench players, as Shaun Livingston came off the pine and racked up 20 points.
The Splash Brothers? They totaled – gasp! – 20 points between them on 8-for-27 shooting, each knocking down a late 3-pointer. “That’s why we’re here”.
Game 2 is Sunday night back at Oracle Arena, and James knows Cleveland must adjust immediately.
They didn’t show poise, giving up 17 turnovers that turned into 25 Warriors points. “He’s our most valuable piece on the team, with Steph and Draymond”. Barbosa returned from a minor back injury to shoot 5 for 5 for 11 points, while 2015 finals MVP Iguodala had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and some stingy defense on James. “Just being aggressive when we’re out there”, Livington said about the bench play. “So we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and try to figure out how to take those guys out of the game”.
Sure, Cleveland fell behind 1-0 in last year’s Finals after an overtime defeat in the opener, yet these record-setting Warriors believe they are far better equipped for the Finals stage the second time around.
It made for a strong start while surrounded by the yellow “Strength in Numbers” T-shirts worn by the raucous fans throughout soldout Oracle Arena.
“I’m “All In”, said Jackson, using the Cavs’ postseason motto. “We pick each other up”. “We don’t want to play fast and just jack up bad shots”. LeBron James had 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Cavs. He scored 13 points, had one rebound and two assists and came away with an ROI score of 4.88. Well, as great as we could for 48 minutes. “Their bench played well”.
Ed Malloy – who last did a Finals game since 2013 – will be on the court Thursday night with Ken Mauer and Marc Davis, both of whom were part of the rotation a year ago.
With 34.1 seconds left in the third, Iguodala took issue with Dellavedova’s swat into his groin that after review was ruled a personal foul and no flagrant.
Despite entering halftime down nine points, the Cavaliers opened the third quarter on a 21-11 run and took a one-point lead with three minutes, 57 seconds remaining in the frame.
The bench was nearly nonexistent for Cleveland, with a total of 10 points between eight players that head coach Tyron Lue put in the game.
Kerr had a bit of a moment himself as he chopped a clipboard in half because of his displeasure with his team coming out of the half.
CNNMoney’s Player ROI will be live during the game – it’s a tool to determine how your favorite players are performing, relative to how much money they make. “So it’s better that way”.
Irving, who had a game-high 26 points but shot just 7-for-22 with four assists, was guilty of dominating the ball just as much on the perimeter, though he had stretches where he was extremely efficient.
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Relegated to also-ran status at times during the team’s 1-3 start to the Western Conference finals, Golden State’s bench unit was limited in its matchups against the Thunder and hardly made a dent even in winning.
