Kevin Durant Scores 38 Points as Golden State Routs Cleveland in Game 1 of NBA Finals

After Kevin Durant signed with Golden State last summer, we figured the Warriors would be nearly unstoppable this season. After all, they had broken the record for best regular season record at 73-9 without him, but of course they fell short in the Finals, losing in seven games to the Cleveland Cavaliers after being up three games to one. This season, the Warriors couldn’t match last season’s record but they did finish with the best record in the NBA at 67-15, and came into the Finals with a post season record of 12-0 to face the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third Finals in a row.

Durant made the most of the opportunity in Game 1 on June 1st,, leading all scorers with 38 points and adding eight rebounds and eight assists as Golden State easily beat the Cavaliers 113-91 in Oakland. Stephen Curry had 28 points and 10 assists. LeBron James scored 28, Kyrie Irving scored 24, and Kevin Love was a monster on the boards, grabbing 21 rebounds to go with 15 points for the Cavaliers, but Cleveland had no defensive answer for Durant. The Cavaliers committed 20 turnovers—eight by James—while Golden State had only four.

Of course, this was only the first game of the series, and perhaps the Cavs were just off their game a little. But they’ll have to get it together quickly, figure out how to defend against Durant, and, oh yeah, keep Curry in check too, and hang onto the ball better. Game 2 is in Oakland on June 4th.

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