The Golden State Warriors showed no signs of slowing down from their 12-0 start to the postseason. Behind a dominant performance from Kevin Durant and stifling defense, the Warriors downed the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers 113-91 to take Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Durant and fellow MVP Steph Curry combined for 66 points on 25-48 shooting. Cleveland had no answer to the dynamic duo, and paid the price.
After what felt like an eternity between the conference finals and NBA Finals, some competitive basketball was actually played in the first half. The Warriors lead 60-52 and started to show signs of breaking the game open, but the Cavaliers stuck around. Durant had some electric dunks in the opening half of basketball that set the tone for the team and the screaming fans at Oracle Arena.
Kevin Durant….fastbreak dunk…again!
20 first half points for KD#DubNation pic.twitter.com/hp6FJKjFrO
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 2, 2017
LeBron James had to pace the Cavaliers on offense, and for the most part he did. But he also accumulated eight critical turnovers that stymied offensive flow at times. Despite that, The King finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Kyrie Irving, who was special in the NBA Finals last year, showed off his offensive prowess at times in Game 1 but never truly dominated in the way the Cavaliers needed. Despite that, he ended the game with 24 points and a nifty four-point play.
KYRIE IRVING WITH THE 4-POINT PLAY.
HOW?!pic.twitter.com/y2m8kKmdJe
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 2, 2017
The story of this game, however, belongs to Kevin Durant. The Cavaliers were able to leave the cold-shooting Harrison Barnes all by his lonesome last year, a tactic they do not have the privilege of this time around. Similar to Christmas Day, where Durant also dominated, Cleveland had no answer for the 6’9″ small forward. It was a game one would expect a hungry superstar to have.
The Cavaliers played a tremendously sloppy game in every facet. Cleveland had 20 turnovers and shot 34.9% from the floor, which is actually worse than what they shot from behind the arc. Tristan Thompson was not nearly as disruptive in the paint as he needs to be. Defensively, the Cavaliers look like a team that has no switch and really doesn’t know what one looks like. The transition defense is still horrific and the team finished Game 1 with zero steals, to Golden State’s 12.
The Warriors dominated Game 1 and appear well-rested from their long layoff. The Cavaliers will have to make some adjustments, and quickly, if they intend to keep the NBA title in Northeast Ohio. Game 2 will be Sunday June 4th at 8pm at Oracle Arena.
