The last game of the Western Conference Finals only ended about 72 hours ago, but it feels like the 2016 NBA Finals took forever to get here, didn’t they? The wall-to-wall coverage that most sports publications and networks devoted to the Warriors and Cavaliers made the last three days drag. But we’ve finally arrived at Game 1 of the Finals.
Between all of Steph Curry’s threes and LeBron James’ dunks (and as it turns out, Shaun Livingston's jumpers!), we imagine that things are going to get a little bit crazy on Thursday night. To help you keep track of it as the game is going on—or to help you make sense of it all later—we’re going to collect the best plays from Game 1 here. Let's goooo...
Kevin Love opens the NBA Finals by sinking a wide-open 3 off a pass from Kyrie Irving:
Steph Curry hits Tristan Thompson with a jab step and sinks a three-pointer in his face:
LeBron James makes it look easy against the Golden State bigs to keep the Cavaliers close early in the game:
Draymond Green flops and nearly kicks Kyrie Irving in the face:
Kyrie Irving slices through the Warriors' defense and finishes at the rim at the end of the first quarter:
Leandro Barbosa knocks down a three—and referee Kenny Mauer—as the Warriors jump out to a large first half lead:
Kevin Love (accidentally?) attempts one of the worst shots he's ever taken:
Andre Iguodala blocks everything in sight during the first half:
Kyrie Irving with the hoop and the harm in the third quarter:
Steve Kerr takes out his frustrations on his clipboard after the Warriors blow a double-digit lead:
LeBron James knocks down a three in transition:
Shaun Livingston scores two of his 20 points:
Kevin Love takes it strong to the hole after catching a bullet from LeBron James:
Matthew Dellavedova hits Andre Iguodala below the belt:
Steph Curry takes the ball directly at LeBron James:
Harrison Barnes cuts to the basket for an easy dunk:
LeBron James reacts to the Cavaliers falling behind by double digits again:
Steph Curry connects with Andre Iguodala on a no-look pass:
Steph Curry knocks down a late three...
...and then Klay Thompson does, too:
The Warriors beat the Cavaliers 104-89 to take a 1-0 series lead in the NBA Finals.
