What more could you possibly ask for? The NBA’s best team going head-to-head with the NBA’s best individual player on the biggest stage imaginable—and for their first matchup to be so close, so down to the wire, that it couldn’t be settled in regular time … I mean, Jesus Christ, what a basketball game.
Ultimately, it was the better team that prevailed, utilizing a well-rounded effort (well, at least in comparison to the Cavs’ all-LeBron-everything approach) to grab a 108-100 victory, taking a 1-0 series lead over Cleveland.
The Splash Brothers did their thing—Stephen Curry finished with 26 points and 8 dimes; Klay Thompson dropped a solid 21 points—but equally impressive is the fact that they found a way to earn a victory considering what—er, who—they faced up against.
LeBron James was an absolute monster: 44 points (18-38 from the field), 8 rebounds, 6 assists. It was a totally classic LBJ performance, up there with anything we’ve seen before. But from Cleveland, that was just about it—the Cavs’ bench was virtually nonexistent
After 50 or so minutes of back-and-forth action, Golden State made some clutch stops in overtime, and with the Oracle Arena crowd raging on at ear-splitting volume, the Dubs took an early advantage in what is sure to be a hell of a series. Game 2 is Sunday night at 8 p.m. EST.
