“We survived by the skin of our teeth”, Head Coach of the Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr said after the game.
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The second game of the Finals takes place in the early hours of Monday morning in California, before Cleveland are given home advantage in the following two games.
But his anger was short-lived as his team, led by Steph Curry, went on to win.
Thursday’s opening game of the much talked about NBA Finals between Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors and LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers brought in an overnight rating of 13.1 for ABC.
Cleveland’s offense was predictable, and one-dimensional, and it didn’t have the uninterrupted flow that Golden State’s had, which allowed the Warriors to plug in big games from guys like Livingston and Green when Curry and Thompson weren’t feeling it.
As if this series needed any more drama, it’s being reported that some of the Cleveland Cavaliers players are upset about how much more expensive the NBA Finals ticket prices are this year compared to last year’s NBA Finals.
A career-high 20 points from Shaun Livingston propelled the Warriors, as Andre Iguodala (12 points) and Leandro Barbosa (11 points) also starred off the bench. With them having 6 days to prepare for the NBA Finals and the Golden State Warriors having just 3, they had some of the odds towards their favor heading into the game.
The Cavaliers shot only 38.1 percent from the field and made 15 turnovers that led to 25 points for the Warriors. I understand they may go to four refs next Finals. “Not anxious about that”, said Curry, who settled for 11 points, two more than his backcourt team mate, Thompson. Offensively we got to be much better, we have to be much better at moving the ball, moving bodies, they’re a great team…
Iguodala had a good game with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
“We didn’t finish around the basket, so we’ve just got to keep playing the same way we were playing”, Lue said. “So I try to take it out on a clipboard instead of a player”.
The Warriors won the game 104-89. Of course the Cavs do not have Iguodala in reserve, but their bench has shown more potential.
After a scoreless first quarter when he missed all five shots but had five assists, James scored 14 of his 19 points in the second and also finished with nine assists and eight rebounds.
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Game two of the best-of-seven series will be played on Sunday (Monday AEST). We’re not coming in to just give guys rest. The Cavs scored 89 points, nothing near their average this postseason.
