The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors kick off their third consecutive NBA Finals matchup with Game 1 on Thursday night at Oracle Arena. Who will take an early 1-0 series lead? Follow our live blog throughout the game for live updates, analysis and highlights.
FINAL, Warriors 113-91
Game 1 is in the books. Cleveland didn’t help itself by committing 20 turnovers, but Golden State’s offense was firing on all cylinders. Kevin Durant’s 38 points led the Warriors to their 13th straight victory of the postseason.
Fourth quarter, 2:16, 108-89 Warriors: Golden State takes out its starters. It’s officially garbage time, folks.
Fourth quarter, 4:00, 105-84 Warriors: All of Cleveland’s starters have taken a seat on the bench. Looks like the Cavaliers are waving the white flag.
Fourth quarter, 4:06, 105-84 Warriors: Kevin Durant knocks down a 3-pointer, boosting his point total to 35.
Fourth quarter, 4:55, 102-82 Warriors: Kevin Love pulls down his 20th rebound of the game.
Fourth quarter, 6:07, 100-80 Warriors: Golden State calls a timeout. The Warriors have kept their foot on the gas in the fourth quarter, as Cleveland has shown no signs of life.
Fourth quarter, 11:21, 95-72 Warriors: An Ian Clark basket opens the scoring in the final frame.
End of third quarter, 93-72 Warriors: A blitzkrieg by the Warriors has the Cavaliers on the ropes heading into the fourth quarter.
Third quarter, 1:28, 90-68 Warriors: Draymond Green logs his first points of the game in style. The Golden State forward converts on an and-1 after a foul from LeBron James.
Third quarter, 1:53, 87-68 Warriors: Stephen Curry is amazing. The Golden State point guard effortlessly buries a 3-pointer in transition and celebrates accordingly.
Third quarter, 6:22, 75-60 Warriors: LeBron James throws down a monster dunk. Golden State calls a timeout.
Third quarter, 7:53, 73-55 Warriors: LeBron James’ 3-pointer gives Cleveland its first points of the third quarter.
Third quarter, 8:06, 73-52 Warriors: Stephen Curry shakes LeBron James and then sinks a 3-pointer.
Third quarter, 9:46, 67-52 Warriors: Stephen Curry drills a mid-range bucket to push Golden State’s lead to 15. Cleveland calls a timeout.
Third quarter, 11:30, 63-52 Warriors: Kevin Durant kicks off the second half with a contested 3-pointer.
End of second quarter, 60-52 Warriors: It was a battle of small forwards in the first half. Kevin Durant posts a first-half high 23 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds. LeBron James nearly matched him with 19 points of his own, and also pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out four assists.
Kyrie Irving (17 points) and Stephen Curry (12 points) were the only other scorers in double digits. Turnovers killed Cleveland in the second quarter, as it gave the ball away nine times.
Second quarter, 3:15, 55-45 Warriors: A Kevin Durant runner gives Golden State its first double-digit lead of the game.
Second quarter, 4:46, 49-43 Warriors: How did he do that?! Kyrie Irving buries a ridiculous 3-pointer and gets fouled in the process. The Cavs point guard sinks the free throw to complete the four-point play.
Second quarter, 7:09, 43-34 Warriors: Kevin Durant has been a dunking machine. He drives through the lane uncontested and finishes with a slam.
Second quarter, 8:34, 41-34 Warriors: A David West bucket swells Golden State’s lead to seven, its largest of the game.
End of first quarter, 35-30 Warriors: Andre Iguodala beats the first-quarter buzzer with a deep 3-pointer. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry lead Golden State with 10 points each, while LeBron James is pacing Cleveland with 13.
First quarter, 2:02, 27-24 Warriors: Stephen Curry nails a 3-pointer, Golden State’s first bucket from beyond the arc in the game.
First quarter, 2:30, 24-24 tie: LeBron James is not messing around. An emphatic dunk swells his first-quarter point total to 11.
First quarter, 3:09, 22-22 tie: LeBron James ties the game with his first 3-pointer of the game.
First quarter, 4:19, 20-17 Warriors: Kevin Durant puts LeBron James on skates.
First quarter, 4:49, 18-17 Warriors: Kevin Durant continues to be aggressive attacking the basket.
First quarter, 6:43, 12-12 tie: Andre Iguodala throws down a thunderous dunk to even the score. Cleveland calls a timeout.
First quarter, 7:27, 10-8 Cavaliers: Draymond Green is called for an offensive foul. With two early fouls, he heads to the bench.
First quarter, 8:47, 6-4 Warriors: Draymond Green finds Kevin Durant for a loud alley-oop.
First quarter, 8:57, 4-4 tie: Both teams are struggling from the field with a combined 3-of-15 shooting mark to start.
First quarter, 10:28, 3-0 Cavaliers: J.R. Smith opens the scoring for Cleveland with a 3-pointer from the corner.
First quarter, 12:00, 0-0: The Warriors have won the tip-off. Game 1 is underway!
8:52 p.m.: Two stars meet at center court with an important matter at hand: Choosing the game ball.
8:50 p.m.: Here are the starting lineups.
Warriors
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Klay Thompson
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Draymond Green
C: Zaza Pachulia
Cavaliers
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: J.R. Smith
SF: LeBron James
PF: Kevin Love
C: Tristan Thompson
8:47 p.m.: The defending champions are ready.
8:12 p.m.: Kevin Durant came to the Warriors with championship aspirations in mind. Will he rise to the occasion tonight?
8:04 p.m. ET: Yeah, Stephen Curry has range.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
