Warriors 113, Cavaliers 91; Golden State leads Finals 1-0

Heading into Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the question was simple: how much of an impact would Kevin Durant have after the Golden State Warriors added him in the offseason?

He answered that question with a resounding and emphatic performance, dropping 38 points on 14-of-26 shooting, including 3-for-6 from three and 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the victory. Also tasked with defending LeBron James for much of the game, he was clearly the best player on the court as he operated with a great deal of efficiency on both ends, also adding eight rebounds and eight assists.

Stephen Curry added 28 points of his own for the winning side, going 11-of-22 shooting, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down six rebounds and served as the team’s leading facilitator, dishing out 10 assists to his talented supporting cast.

Oddly enough, no other Warrior scored in double-figures as the two superstars did most of the heavy lifting.

Also oddly enough, both Klay Thompson and Draymond Green struggled offensively for Golden State. Thompson shot just 3-for-16 and didn’t make a single three-pointer in five attempts while Green went 3-for-12, but impacted the game defensively, adding 11 rebounds, two steals and a block.

As a whole, the Warriors shot 42.5 percent overall including 36.4 percent from three while pulling down 50 rebounds. Unbelievably, they had 31 assists compared to just four turnovers as a team.

At 13-0 this postseason, the Warriors continued their historically-perfect playoff run.

While the Cavaliers trailed by just eight points at halftime, they were unable to limit the Warriors of the gates after halftime, when they were outscored 33-20 in the third quarter. From then on, it was history.

LeBron James was up to his usual self, dropping 28 points on 9-of-20 shooting with 15 rebounds and eight assists. Kyrie Irving added 24 of his own on 10-for-22 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three while Kevin Love had an impressive double-double with 15 points and 21 rebounds in the losing effort.

No other Cavs player scored in double-figures.

Cleveland struggled mightily on the offensive end, shooting just 30-of-86 (34.9 percent) as a whole. They also had just 15 assists compared to 20 turnovers as a team, which is the polar opposite of Golden State’s incredible display of taking care of the ball.

Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday night. With one game in the books, both teams have a sense of what to expect heading into the next contest.