Warriors dominate in series opener
OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State point guard Stephen Curry spoke up, just in case his teammates needed another reminder as the Warriors began a third straight NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
His simple message: Be yourselves.
Forget the juicy storylines or avenging something that happened last June, that championship that got away. Set aside the hyped CavsDubs rivalry, the constant talk of the trilogy, Part III. Just go play.
It worked splendidly for Curry, winner of the past two seasons’ MVP awards, and Kevin Durant in their first championship series together.
Durant was utterly dominant 11 months after leaving Oklahoma City to join the Warriors, and Curry found a groove once he removed the black sleeve from his shooting arm that protects his tender right elbow, because it just didn’t feel right.
They combined for 66 points and 18 assists in a 113-91 thumping of LeBron James and the Cavs, who must find a way to defend the high-flying Durant when the bestof-seven series resumes. Game 2 is at 8 p.m. 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. “And that’s our best effort to win this championship, is just be ourselves.”
Cleveland might be thinking the same thing a day after a startling defeat in which the Cavs committed 20 turnovers and let Durant drive 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 Durant unguarded on the perimeter, he made 3-pointers.
The Cavs watched video of the loss and vowed to get back to basics
and the solid 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 postseason record. “That’s very apparent when you look at the film.”
Not only did the Warriors match an NBA 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 play Thompson only 22 minutes.
James and Kyrie Irving shot a combined 19-for-42, but Cleveland’s 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.
Golden State was so good, Lue called it the best team he has seen. Sure, the Warriors won a record 73 regular-season games a year ago, but they failed to hold a 3-1 lead in last year’s title series as Cleveland won in seven games and celebrated on Golden State’s home floor.
That’s also a good reminder this series has a long way to go, but the Warriors looked unstoppable Thursday night.
“You cannot simulate what they bring to the table,” said James, whose team split homeand-home meetings with Golden State in the regular season. “No matter how many days that you have to prepare, you can’t simulate what they have. So it’s great to get the first game up underneath us.
“We made a lot of mistakes. They capitalized. And we get an opportunity to get a couple days to see what they did and see what we did wrong and how we can be better in Game 2.”