Game 1 of the third chapter in this epic NBA Finals trilogy began with the Golden State Warriors winning the tip. The crowd inside Oracle Arena instantly roared to life.
Both teams started a bit cold from the field until Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith knocked down a three-pointer near the ten-minute mark of the opening quarter. Zaza Pachulia quickly answered with a put-back to give the Warriors their first points of the game. A back-and-forth battle ensued.
Warriors forward Draymond Green picked up his second foul midway through the first, forcing coach Mike Brown to make a substitution.
With Green on the bench, LeBron James and the Cavs began to attack the rim. The King pushed Cleveland’s advantage to three by way of a free-throw, but the Warriors, led by Kevin Durant, went on a 6-0 run to regain the lead.
As time began to expire in the opening frame, James tied the game at 24 points apiece with a ferocious one-handed slam.
Despite 13 first quarter points from James, a buzzer-beating three from Andre Iguodala pushed the Warriors ahead by five at the first break in the action, 35-30.
James opened the second quarter with a quick bucket, reducing Cleveland’s deficit to three. The momentum was short-lived, however, as Golden State extended their lead to seven with yet another run, forcing a timeout from Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue.
Turnovers began to be an issue for the Cavaliers. In fact, they had six mishaps through the first five minutes of the second quarter. Making things worse, the champs were shooting just 37% from the field. As a result, the Warriors stretched their advantage to 10.
At the halftime horn, the Cavs, now with 10 turnovers to Golden State’s one, had managed to reduce the gap to eight, 60-52.
3 keys so far..GS 42-16 in paint..61-43 FGA..and 20-10 in assists..but Cavs +6 at FT line, hanging in there down 60-52 at the half..
— Fred McLeod (@CavsFredMcLeod) June 2, 2017
Coming out of the locker room, Durant pushed Golden State’s lead to 11 with a contested three.
Things weren’t looking good for the Cavs. In fact, the champs failed to score through the first four minutes of the third quarter. Back-to-back three-pointers from Stephen Curry had the Warriors in front by 18.
The Cavs, who were shooting in the 30 percentile range and carrying 16 turnovers at the time, fought back with a pair of three’s, forcing another timeout from Golden State.
After the brief Cavs run, another pair of three’s from Curry pushed the Warriors way ahead. With three quarters in the books, the Cavs, now trailing by 21 points, 93-72, were in trouble.
Both teams sent several of their reserves onto the floor to start the final frame of play.
Durant was simply on fire in the fourth quarter. The former Texas Longhorn standout gave the Warriors their largest lead of the game (23) with a corner three. Shortly after that, coach Brown called him to the bench, as his work was finished for the night.
In the end, Golden State’s big lead was just too much for the Cavs, who finished with 20 turnovers, to overcome. When the final horn blew, the Warriors had taken the first game of the series by way of an 113-91 victory.
#Cavs drop Game 1 for 3rd straight time; outscored, 33-20, in 3Q; CLE, 35%FG, 35% 3ptFG, 15asst to 31 for GSW, commit 20 turnovers.
— Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG) June 2, 2017
For #Cavs: @KingJames, 28pt, 9-20FG, 15reb, 8asst, 8 TO; @KyrieIrving, 24pt, 10-22FG, 3-4 3ptFG; @kevinlove, 15pt, playoff career-hi 21reb.
— Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG) June 2, 2017
There are several things the Cavs will need to improve on heading into Game 2 (Sunday at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC), including the obvious turnover issue, points allowed in the paint, and poor shooting.
