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Philippines, 25 Apr 2024 |
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2017 NBA Finals -- After an impressive Game 1 rout, Warriors look to take 2-0 lead By Henrick Macalintal PhilBoxing.com Sat, 03 Jun 2017  OAKLAND -- This was what the rest of the league had feared: a super team that will dominate the NBA for seasons to come. The addition of Kevin Durant, who left Oklahoma City this past summer to migrate to Golden State, proved too much for the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Warriors stormed to a 1-0 series lead after scoring a 113-91 Game 1 romp at the Oracle Arena last Friday. Durant, the league's 2014 MVP, finished with 38 points, including six dunks in the opening half. The 6-foot-11 sharp-shooter also dished 8 assists and gathered 8 rebounds. an all around performance that tortured the defending champion Cavaliers. As if Durant's rampage wasn't enough, Steph Curry joined the fray and punctured the Cavs' defense with 28 points and 10 assists. The two-time MVP sank 11 of 22 field goals and 6 of 11 triples. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson combined only for 15 points, missing 22 field goals between them, but it hardly mattered as the Warriors shot 20 more shots than Cleveland, thanks to 20 Cavaliers' turnovers against only 4 for the Warriors. LeBron James had a stellar stats-line, 28 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists, but he couldn't help contain Durant and the King committed 8 turnovers. Kyrie Irving (24 points) and Kevin Love (15 points, 21 rebounds) finished with respectable numbers, but the Cleveland's other supporting cast did not contribute to the cause as J.R. Smith scored only 3 points while Tristan Thompson went scoreless with only four rebounds. As Game 2 looms on Sunday night at the Oracle Arena (Monday morning, June 5 in Manila), the Cavaliers need a lot of fixing on defense, especially as it pertains to guarding Durant. The Cavaliers also need to do better than shooting 34.9 percent and they need to protect the ball in order to slow down Golden State's explosive transition game. As horrible as a 22-point Game 1 loss sounds, the Cavs have been here before. In last year's Finals, the Cavaliers lost Games 1 and 2 by a combined 48 points before taking Game 3 by 30 points. LeBron and company dropped Game 4 to trail the series 3-1 before pulling a stunner by capturing the remaining three games. Of course, the Warriors did not have Durant then. And based on what KD did in Game 1, a repeat of history is difficult to imagine. 
Photos: The Warriors remained a perfect 13-0 in the playoffs after routing the Cleveland Cavaliers, 113-91, at the Oracle Arena (photos by HMacalintal@philboxing.com). Click here to view a list of other articles written by Henrick Macalintal.  |
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