2016 NBA Finals: Game One
After erasing a daunting 3-1 series deficit to overcome the Oklahoma City Thunder in thrilling "Game Seven" fashion, the Golden State Warriors stepped onto their home court at Oracle Arena on Thursday night backed by the highly-anticipated elation of over 19,000 supporters. Game One of the 2016 NBA Finals had finally arrived.
As many had expected, this year's championship would be decided in a rematch of the 2015 edition of the Finals, featuring the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors (victors in 73 historic contests throughout the regular season), and the Cleveland Cavaliers (finally returned to full strength, and in pursuit of their first championship in franchise history).
For the Warriors, it had been a quite eventful trip to the Finals, featuring a plethora of injuries to back-to-back NBA MVP Stephen Curry, and a shockingly furious rally to snatch the Western Conference Championship from the clutches of Russell Westbrook and company.
In contrast, the Cavaliers had undergone much less adversity throughout their path to the Finals, with the only significant scare occurring courtesy of back-to-back Conference Final victories by Kyle Lowry's Toronto Raptors.
But on the night of June 2nd, 2016, all previous statistics would be negated. Comparisons such as 73-9 versus 57-25, or 12-5 versus 12-2, were by this point in time, irrelevant. Now there were seven games remaining, and the first team to win four times would be awarded the NBA's ultimate prize.
Thus, the ball was in the air -- Andrew Bogut would win the tip-off for the Golden State Warriors, who immediately flexed their collective muscles and proceeded to play the ultimate team game.
As the first-quarter came to its conclusion, however, tonight's contest was bewilderingly undecided. Led by an unexpected six points from Harrison Barnes, the Warriors held a slim 28-24 advantage after the opening twelve minutes. Yet they were receiving very limited production from their perennial stars, including a dumbfounding scoreless performance from Klay Thompson.
Nevertheless, in the second quarter, it would be Golden State's bench that would step into the spotlight. Among this evening's key bench contributors were Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa. And whilst the second quarter saw Barbosa head to the locker room due to minor injury, and Thompson head to the bench due to ongoing foul concerns, the Warriors would take a reasonably solid lead of 52-43 to the break.
With twenty-four minutes of play now in the books, the Cavaliers had three "double-digit" scorers: Kyrie Irving (13), LeBron James (11), and Kevin Love (10). On the other end of the court, Harrison Barnes still led the Warriors with only 9 points.
And the game would proceed in a similar manner, with the Warriors extending their lead bit-by-bit, regardless of truly unremarkable performances from their All-Star talents. It wasn't until the latter stages of the third-quarter that emotions finally boiled over, and the supreme Warriors began to seize control.
With time ticking down on the third-quarter game-clock, Matthew Dellavedova swiped downward and caught Andre Iguodala in an uncomfortable region, provoking Iguodala and setting the ultimate stage for a Golden State surge. With twelve minutes remaining, Golden State now led by the score of 74-68.
In the fourth-quarter, the Warriors continued to expand their lead, until Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (who had been unusually quiet throughout the duration of the contest), finally drained back-to-back threes to bury a scrappy Cavaliers' squad. The "Splash Brothers" would combine for only 20 points tonight; previously, their season-low had been set at 29.
Ultimately, however, it was Golden State's staggering bench production (of 45 points, in comparison to a mere 10 from Cleveland) that would power them to the 104-89 victory in Game One.
Box score notables for Cleveland include: Kyrie Irving (26 points), LeBron James (23 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists), Kevin Love (17 points and 13 rebounds), and Tristan Thompson (10 points and 12 rebounds).
Box score notables for Golden State include: Shaun Livingston (20 points), Draymond Green (16 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists), Harrison Barnes (13 points), Andre Iguodala (12 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists), and Leandro Barbosa (11 points).
For Golden State fans, tonight's victory (with consideration of the pair of sub-par performances from Curry and Thompson) should certainly serve as encouragement in this series moving forward. Game Two will take place on Sunday evening at Oracle Arena.
As many had expected, this year's championship would be decided in a rematch of the 2015 edition of the Finals, featuring the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors (victors in 73 historic contests throughout the regular season), and the Cleveland Cavaliers (finally returned to full strength, and in pursuit of their first championship in franchise history).
For the Warriors, it had been a quite eventful trip to the Finals, featuring a plethora of injuries to back-to-back NBA MVP Stephen Curry, and a shockingly furious rally to snatch the Western Conference Championship from the clutches of Russell Westbrook and company.
In contrast, the Cavaliers had undergone much less adversity throughout their path to the Finals, with the only significant scare occurring courtesy of back-to-back Conference Final victories by Kyle Lowry's Toronto Raptors.
But on the night of June 2nd, 2016, all previous statistics would be negated. Comparisons such as 73-9 versus 57-25, or 12-5 versus 12-2, were by this point in time, irrelevant. Now there were seven games remaining, and the first team to win four times would be awarded the NBA's ultimate prize.
Thus, the ball was in the air -- Andrew Bogut would win the tip-off for the Golden State Warriors, who immediately flexed their collective muscles and proceeded to play the ultimate team game.
As the first-quarter came to its conclusion, however, tonight's contest was bewilderingly undecided. Led by an unexpected six points from Harrison Barnes, the Warriors held a slim 28-24 advantage after the opening twelve minutes. Yet they were receiving very limited production from their perennial stars, including a dumbfounding scoreless performance from Klay Thompson.
Nevertheless, in the second quarter, it would be Golden State's bench that would step into the spotlight. Among this evening's key bench contributors were Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa. And whilst the second quarter saw Barbosa head to the locker room due to minor injury, and Thompson head to the bench due to ongoing foul concerns, the Warriors would take a reasonably solid lead of 52-43 to the break.
With twenty-four minutes of play now in the books, the Cavaliers had three "double-digit" scorers: Kyrie Irving (13), LeBron James (11), and Kevin Love (10). On the other end of the court, Harrison Barnes still led the Warriors with only 9 points.
And the game would proceed in a similar manner, with the Warriors extending their lead bit-by-bit, regardless of truly unremarkable performances from their All-Star talents. It wasn't until the latter stages of the third-quarter that emotions finally boiled over, and the supreme Warriors began to seize control.
With time ticking down on the third-quarter game-clock, Matthew Dellavedova swiped downward and caught Andre Iguodala in an uncomfortable region, provoking Iguodala and setting the ultimate stage for a Golden State surge. With twelve minutes remaining, Golden State now led by the score of 74-68.
In the fourth-quarter, the Warriors continued to expand their lead, until Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (who had been unusually quiet throughout the duration of the contest), finally drained back-to-back threes to bury a scrappy Cavaliers' squad. The "Splash Brothers" would combine for only 20 points tonight; previously, their season-low had been set at 29.
Ultimately, however, it was Golden State's staggering bench production (of 45 points, in comparison to a mere 10 from Cleveland) that would power them to the 104-89 victory in Game One.
Box score notables for Cleveland include: Kyrie Irving (26 points), LeBron James (23 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists), Kevin Love (17 points and 13 rebounds), and Tristan Thompson (10 points and 12 rebounds).
Box score notables for Golden State include: Shaun Livingston (20 points), Draymond Green (16 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists), Harrison Barnes (13 points), Andre Iguodala (12 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists), and Leandro Barbosa (11 points).
For Golden State fans, tonight's victory (with consideration of the pair of sub-par performances from Curry and Thompson) should certainly serve as encouragement in this series moving forward. Game Two will take place on Sunday evening at Oracle Arena.
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