Golden State Warriors: 5 Lessons From NBA Finals Game 1

Thanks to a 108-100 Game 1 overtime victory last night, the Golden State Warriors are three wins away from their first NBA championship in 40 years.

In the 2015 NBA Finals opener, the Dubs came out with a ton of nervous energy. The Cleveland Cavaliers built a 14-point lead in the first quarter and had a 10-point advantage heading into the second quarter. But as the Warriors have done many times this season and in these playoffs, they quickly clawed their way back and eventually won the game behind a roaring Oracle Arena.

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Despite an NBA Finals career high 44 points from LeBron James, the Dubs were able to escape with the win. Unfortunately for the Cavs, Kyrie Irving left the game with an apparent non-contact knee injury late in OT and the Warriors outscored Cleveland 10-2 in the extra period.

Stephen Curry led Golden State with 26 points, eight assists and four rebounds while shooting 10-for-20 from the field and Klay Thompson followed up with 21 points. Andre Iguodala added 15 off the bench and Marreese Speights had eight in his return from a calf injury, jumpstarting the lackadaisical Warriors into action in the second quarter.

But after such an eventful, entertaining and yes, somewhat depressing Game 1 (please get well soon, Kyrie!), what did we learn? The home team took care of business, but should the Warriors be concerned about how close it was or about how LeBron had his way with the Dubs’ highly vaunted defense?

In an effort to understand Game 1 and look ahead to the rest of the series, here are the five biggest lessons from the 2015 NBA Finals opener.

Next: No. 5