Point guard Shaun Livingston came off the bench to lead the Warriors in scoring with 20 points, equalling the combined total of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, while Leandro Barbosa and Andre Iguodala chipped in 23 points and six assists.
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If he hasn’t already, LeBron James may want to rethink his 2014 proclamation that those Spurs were the best opponent he’s ever faced.
Nielsen said ABC eclipsed the previous viewership high of 17,768,000 by eight percent, a mark set a year ago between the two teams.
Curry shot 4 of 15 for 11 points, and Thompson was 4 of 12.
I think defensively we had a game plan and we followed it as much as possible-well, as great as we could for 48 minutes-we had some breakdowns, which we know we can get better with.
But in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the shortcomings of Curry and Thompson – and for once, there were loads of them – weren’t much of a problem.
For LeBron and his Cavs, it was about finally bringing a title to Cleveland and getting sweet revenge against the Warriors, whom had beaten the Cavaliers for the championship last season. “We’ve just got to knock them home”.
Furthermore, Warrior Shaun Livingston, who came off the bench, had the biggest impact on the game.
The Cavaliers superstar was visibly upset with the flow of Game 1, as the Cavs’ offence deteriorated into excessive isolation play and wound up with 38 per cent shooting.
I’m not going to jump to conclusions and call the Cavs out of this, especially after what we saw the Spurs do to the Thunder in Game 1 of their series. In fact, the only Cavs who were on the court when their team outscored Golden State played a combined 15 minutes.
Last year’s Game 1 brought in a huge 17.8 million viewers.
“They make you stagnant and make you play one-on-one basketball because that’s all you can get”, Lue said.
“People look at Steph and Klay, but when you add Draymond and Livingston and Iguodala, that adds playmakers”, James said. But the lead was short kept as the Warriors kept a six point lead entering the fourth.
For the Cavaliers to win, they’ll need the bench group to not only bring plenty more scoring to Game 2 and beyond, but also continue the energy that the LeBron James and the starters bring.
So the question becomes, which is more sustainable as this series evolves: The Cavs’ defense controlling Curry and Thompson?
“I thought it was corny when he first said it”, Green said. We were able to get where we wanted to go.
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“Just his length, being 6-7″ and no matter what you try to put in front of him, he’s always going to be bigger at the point guard position”, Lue added.
