Game 1 of the NBA Finals was an absolute 22-point beatdown by the Golden State Warriors, as the team defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-91. Warriors forward Kevin Durant led all scorers with 38 points on 14-of-26 shooting from the field on the night. Cavaliers forward LeBron James had 28 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and eight turnovers in 40 minutes of action.
“It was the whole game. It started with myself,” James said of his performance in the loss. “Having some turnovers, especially in the first half. You know I pride myself on not turning the ball over and I did it too much.”
The Cavaliers committed 20 turnovers compared to the Warriors’ four. Cleveland had four Game 1 participants that did not score a single point, contrary to Golden State’s one player that went scoreless. The Cavaliers Big Three of James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love scored 74 percent of the team’s points, while Golden State’s Big Four of Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green combined for only 72 percent of the Warriors’ total.
Game 1 was ugly, but Game 2 will likely be closer.
There are six Game 1’s in the largest 23 NBA Finals blowouts in history. The only outlier in the group is from the 1951 NBA Finals when the Cincinnati Royals beat the New York Knicks by 15 points after blowing them out in Game 1. Out of the other five games, the 1985 Los Angeles Lakers and 1992 Portland Trailblazers won Game 2, while the 2009 Orlando Magic, 1965 Lakers, and 1961 St. Louis Hawks all lost by six or fewer points.
“These guys have been through a lot of crazy series before,” Cavaliers newcomer Kyle Korver said after Game 1. “A lot of things can happen within a series, from game-to-game. Things can change. Obviously, things don’t look good for us right now, from the outside looking in, but we’re going to stay up. We’re going to make some adjustments and be better whatever day we play next.”
Game 2 is on Sunday, June 4 at 8 p.m. EST.
