OAKLAND, Calif. – After superior performances by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in Golden State’s stunning come-from-behind win over Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, it was only natural to assume the best-shooting backcourt in NBA history would play a key role in the Warriors’ quest to repeat. And they will. Just not Thursday night. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, it was Golden State’s depth, led by superior performances from Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa that powered the Warriors to a 104-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“This was a strange game for us,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We're not used to having both Steph and Klay off like that with their shooting.”
Kerr said before the game that he liked the quick turnaround, and Golden State looked sharp playing on two days’ rest. The Warriors made 54.5 percent of their shots in the first quarter, led by Harrison Barnes, who got the start after coming off the bench in Game 7 against Oklahoma City and helped power Golden State to a nine-point first-half lead. Barnes finished with 13 points and and two assists.
"Harrison has started for two years, and it's been a pretty good two years for us," Kerr said. "We've had a good run. It's been very effective playing the way we've played in terms of the lineup and the rotation. I didn't feel any need to change our lineup for Game 1 of the series."
Cleveland battled back, with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving leading an isolation-heavy attack. Kevin Love, whose shaky defense has been an ongoing story leading up to this series, was solid, capably defending the pick-and-roll while giving the Cavaliers an early option in the low post on the other end. Cleveland erased the halftime deficit in the third quarter and briefly took a three-point lead.
“I thought we did a great job of fighting our way back and staying the course,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “In the first half we struggled a little bit offensively. I just thought in the second half we came back in that third quarter, really got physical, really got aggressive.”
Cleveland’s ball movement was stagnant though, with Irving (26 points) and James (23) frequently forced to play one-on-one. And for the second straight game Golden State received a boost from its bench. Four subs scored for the Warriors, with three — Iguodala, Livingston, Barbosa —cracking double figures. Livingston (20 points) was effective, stepping in for an erratic Curry and delivering his best game of the postseason.
After playing sparingly in the Western Conference finals, Barbosa came off the bench early, chipping in 11 points, including four in a second-half surge that ended a furious Cleveland comeback.
Iguodala — last year’s Finals MVP — proved once again to be a difference-maker, finishing with 12 points. The defensive specialist terrorized Cleveland in the first half, stripping James and Irving on drives and harassing J.R. Smith (three points) on the perimeter. Iguodala got his shot going in the second half, knocking down a pair of third-quarter three-pointers, six of his 10 second-half points.
“Andre is a brilliant basketball player,” Kerr said. “He doesn't get enough credit. You look at his stat line and his line never usually tells the story, but 12 points, seven boards, six assists, no turnovers and great defense. So that's kind of who he is for us.”
Of course, Golden State’s backcourt didn’t disappear completely. After Cleveland cut the Warriors’ lead to 11 in the fourth, Curry knocked down a step-back 3. Thompson followed it up with a 3 of his own, igniting the 19,596 stuffed inside Oracle Arena, swelling the Warriors’ lead to 17 and sealing a Game 1 win.
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