The NBA finals are finally underway as Game 1 of the 2017 NBA finals was played on Thursday night. The Golden State Warriors hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers in a fully packed Oracle Arena in downtown Oakland. It was a much anticipated opening game of this year's finals, as both teams stormed their way through their respective conferences.
Golden State went 12-0 in the Western conference playoffs, while the Cavaliers came into Thursday's game with 12-1 record. Obviously, there's history between these two teams as this is the third straight time they have met in the NBA finals.
Golden State won the title in 2015 while Cleveland won it in 2016.
Wire-to-wire victory for the Warriors
It was a game that was never in doubt, since Golden State dominated from the opening tip. Midway through the first quarter, Cleveland had a 17-16 lead and that was their last lead of the game. Golden State went on to score 35 points in the first period and won the quarter 35-30. The Warriors never looked back after the first quarter as they held a 49-39 lead midway through the second period. At halftime the score was 60-52 for the home team.
Third quarter was when the Warriors pulled away in this one and sealed the deal. They outscored the Cavaliers 33-20 in the third period and held a 93-72 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Golden State routinely closed out the game with a 20-point fourth quarter and the final score was 113-91 for the Warriors.
They finished the game with 31 team assists and forced the Cavaliers into 20 turnovers. The home team held Cleveland to just 34.9 percent shooting from the field and connected on 12 of their 33 three-point attempts.
Durant shines with 38 points
Golden State had only two players in double-digit scoring in Game 1 victory, but it was more than enough. Kevin Durant scored 38 points on 14-for-26 shooting, and also added eight rebounds and eight assists.
Stephen Curry finished with 28 points, 10 assists and six rebounds while shooting 6-for-11 from behind the arc.
Draymond Green contributed with nine points and 11 rebounds.
For the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was LeBron James who led the way in scoring. James scored 28 points, pulled down 15 rebounds and dished out eight assists. Kyrie Irving added 24 points while Kevin Love finished with 15 points and 21 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Golden State now holds a 1-0 series lead with Game 2 to be played on Sunday night at Oracle Arena.
