The hard work appears to be over for the Golden State Warriors, who cruised past the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 104-89, Thursday at Oracle Arena.
Aside from a spirited third-quarter surge, the Cavs barely competed with a Golden State team reveling in the freedom and airspace the Oklahoma City Thunder denied it for a grueling seven games. Where the Thunder obscured the Warriors' passing vision with thickets of arms in the Western Conference Finals, Cleveland opened broad avenues. Where OKC attacked with relentless athleticism, the Cavs sauntered, wary of matching the Warriors' pace.
Golden State built a 14-point first-half lead behind early scoring from Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut. Good looks came easily, as the smart money expected they would. Cleveland's defense, burdened by Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, was never going to bother the Warriors like that suffocating OKC straitjacket.
Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, like many, saw this coming:
Though the Cavaliers took the lead in the third quarter for a short stretch, the Warriors answered with ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Grant Hughes
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