What was the biggest surprise out of this entire basketball game was the fact that the All-Star back court that has been so good all year, turned in its weakest performance of the playoffs. It drove head coach Steve Kerr crazy. No matter. The rest of Steve Kerr’s roster plowed forward as if nothing was the matter. It really was a thing of beauty, depending on how you look at it, that there was such one-sidedness in the battle of the supporting cast. Cleveland's best players outplayed that of Golden State. Kyrie Irving had 26 points to lead all scorers. Lebron dropped 23 points and Kevin Love chipped in 17 points. The high powered big three for Golden State wasn't as effective. Klay Thompson had just nine points, Stephen Curry dropped eleven and Draymond Green dropped 16. Golden State's bench outscored their Cavaliers counterparts by a 45–10 margin, with Shaun Livingston scoring a season-high 20 points to double up Cleveland’s reserves all by himself. Livingston hit eight of his 10 shots, peppering the Cavaliers with his signature mid-range jumpers. All of this really started late in the basketball game.
Golden State held a four point lead at the end of the 1st quarter, which makes a statement that Cleveland was able to hang around. Golden State started to pull away in the 2nd quarter and went into halftime with a 52-43 lead. Then something happened. The wheels started to fall off a little bit for the Warriors. Cleveland managed to find their game a little bit in the 3rd quarter. They came out like a house of fire, played good defense and by the end of that 3rd quarter, the Cavaliers actually had a lead in the basketball game. Cleveland outscored Golden State 25-22 in the 3rd and carried a 74-68 lead into the final frame. You know things were going wrong for the Warriors when Steve Kerr shattered his white board in half with a karate chop, he was so angry.
Then the Warriors managed to flip the switch in the 4th quarter, thanks to Shaun Livingston. Golden State outscored Cleveland 30-21 in the final quarter. What sold it for the Warriors was, unlike against Oklahoma City, they were able to get more open looks against the Cavs. Yes I know Curry and Thompson both struggled in game one but the Warriors bench more than made up for it. With Cleveland, they got the huge start from their big boys, but their bench disappeared, which is something that hadn't really happened during the first three rounds of the playoffs. Offensively, a no-show from J.R. Smith (three points on 1-of-3 shooting in 36 minutes) and most of his bench, including Channing Frye and Matthew Dellavedova, made it easier for the Warriors to pay extra attention to James and Kyrie Irving without fear of reprisal.
Golden State did what all great teams do and they made adjustments on how to be able to contend with what the Cavaliers were doing in the 3rd quarter. A lot of credit is going to go to the Warriors offense, as it should. But at the same time the Golden State defense deserves credit as well. Golden State forced 17 Cleveland turnovers, which the Warriors turned into 25 points. Cleveland was making mistakes in the late stages of the game and Golden State capitalized all over it. Andre Iguodala was fantastic again on the defensive side of the ball, making life in the paint miserable for Cleveland in this basketball game.
Cleveland did a fairly good job of keeping the Splash Brothers in check. But if they want to have a chance to steal game two of the series, which is Sunday night in Oakland, they need to cut down on turnovers, move the ball better, knock down open shots, limit Golden State’s easiest opportunities. Easier said than done I know, but that will be the focus of the Cavaliers heading into Sunday night!
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