Curry rising to the occasion again, leading Warriors

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry spoke up, just in case his Golden State Warriors needed another reminder from their MVP and leader. His message as the NBA Finals began: be yourselves.

Forget the juicy story lines, or avenging something that happened last June, that championship that got away.

Set aside the hyped-up Cavs-Dubs rivalry, constant talk of the trilogy, Part III.

Just go play. And it worked splendidly for the two-time reigning MVP and Kevin Durant in their first Finals together.

Durant was utterly dominant 11 months after leaving Oklahoma City last July to join the Warriors, while Curry found a groove once he removed the black sleeve from his shooting arm protecting his right elbow. It just didn’t feel right.

They combined for 66 points and 18 assists in a 113-91 Game 1 thumping Thursday night against LeBron James and the defending champion Cavaliers, who must find a way to defend the high-flying Durant when the best-ofseven series resumes on Sunday at Oracle Arena.

“We were really, really good in that department at just being ourselves, playing Warriors basketball, knowing that there’s a lot of talent out on the floor,” said Curry, who had 28 points and 10 assists.

For Cleveland, that startling Game 1 defeat featured 20 turnovers and Durant driving to the basket at will with nobody even close as he dunked again and again — six times in the first half alone. When the Cavs left him unguarded on the perimeter, Durant hit 3-pointers.

The Cavs watched film and vowed to get back to basics and the fundamentals that carried them this far, especially on the defensive end.

“We have to stop the ball first and foremost,” said Cleveland’s Kevin Love, whose 21 rebounds in Game 1 were a franchise post-season record.

“That’s very apparent when you look at the film.”

Not only did the Warriors match a Finals low with just four turnovers, they took Tristan Thompson out of the equation by holding him scoreless. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue changed his rotation as he searched for someone who could make a scoring impact in the middle, saying that led to his decision to only play Thompson 22 minutes.

James and Kyrie Irving shot 19 for 42 between them but the sloppy ball-handling allowed the Warriors to take nearly as many shots — 106 — as they had points, and 20 more attempts than the Cavs’ 86.

“It’s great to get the first game underneath us,” James said. “We made a lot of mistakes. They capitalized. And we get an opportunity to be better in Game 2.”