Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Cavaliers

The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-114 in overtime to open the 2018 NBA Finals. Here are our takeaways from a crazy Game 1.

What was supposed to be the most boring NBA Finals in recent memory is not being cooperative.

The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-114 in Game 1, but no final score has ever been more deceiving. The game was back-and-forth all the way through, before a flurry of clutch plays, blunders and controversial calls led to a 107-107 tie after 48 minutes. A dominant Warriors overtime left us where we thought we’d be after one game — only with 10 times more things to talk about.

LeBron James‘ Finals MVP cases have been overstated during Cleveland’s 2015 and 2017 Finals losses. If he continues to play like he did in Game 1 of 2018 (51 points on 19-of-32 shooting, eight rebounds and eight assists), he might win the award unanimously.

Speaking of unanimous MVPs, Stephen Curry may have something to say about that. The point guard was the best player on the winning side, registering 29 points, nine assists, six rebounds and just two turnovers.

His three All-Star teammates were also excellent. Klay Thompson scored 24 points and hit five triples, despite a scary leg contusion suffered during the first quarter. Draymond Green had 13 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, five steals and two blocks. Kevin Durant scored a non-spectacular 26 points on 22 shots, but played a terrific all-around game by adding nine boards, six assists, three blocks and one turnover. He also finished a game-high +17.

Even with its Big 4 humming, Golden State barely escaped victorious. In our takeaways, we will examine why Game 1 was so hard, why the Warriors won, and what to take away moving forward.