After a Cavaliers rally closed the margin to three points in the third quarter, Golden State’s reserves extended the 71-68 lead to an 88-72 chokehold on the game in the fourth quarter. Those two combined for 20 points, but the Warriors got big contributions from their supporting cast. But this Warriors team goes at least 10-deep, and they will find it easier to get to the bucket against Cleveland’s defense, a unit that doesn’t have imposing bigs like the Thunder’s Steven Adams and Serge Ibaka.
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Kerr karate chopped his white clipboard in half in the third quarter, frustrated how his team came out of the break as the Cavs grabbed some momentum. “They’re a team that has another year under their belt, and they’ve exceeded what they did last year”.
J.R. Smith said he wasn’t bothered by a wrist injury he suffered diving for a ball, but it was unusual for him to take just three shots. His team came in with a plan and the Warriors ran them over.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals is Thursday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, and James knows the importance of this series to Northeast Ohio.
The starters gave up an 11-point third-quarter lead with uninspired play to start the second half. Leandro Barbosa hit all five of his shots and scored 11 points-same as Curry.
Coaches trim their usable parts and basically ride their best players to the promised land or to the depths of defeat. He didn’t take the most shots of the Cavs – that was Kyrie Irving, who attempted 22 shots. They were outscored by their own bench by 25 points.
It wasn’t however the Steph Curry/Klay Thompson show as expected, the headlines belong to the Warriors bench players, who completely outplayed their Cavaliers counterparts. “We’ll be better next game”.
The Warriors’ positional pliancy will continue to give the Cavs problems because they can switch on most screens, and with long, like-sized defenders, the Cavs rarely receive much of a mismatch.
Livingston led the Warriors with 20 points, while Draymond Green added 16.
The Warriors’ bench outscored the Cavs’ bench 35-10.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to be nervous out there like we were a year ago”, Klay Thompson said.
Varejao has never played against the Cavalier and his return to Cleveland for Game 3 of the Finals next Wednesday promises to be an emotional one.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who dropped the jaws of the nation with their shooting, apparently left their magic touch in the Western Conference finals. “He’s great at just taking the temperature and finding the right matchups for us and putting us in places where we can excel”.
“The moment’s here. We lost Game 1”, Irving said. And when reserves are in the game, especially Channing Frye, they have to be more involved, too. Had the violations not wiped out a pair of three-pointers from Irving, the Cavaliers would have held a lead at the end of the first quarter.
Cleveland was second in the league in 3-point shooting this season, behind only Golden State.
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Biyombo gets one-game suspension • The NBA says Toronto center Bismack Biyombo will be suspended without pay for the opener of the 2016-17 season for accumulation of flagrant foul points in the playoffs.
