Warriors Win Opening Game of NBA Championship

Stephen Curry realizes every last man on the bench can mean so much to winning a championship.

As he and Klay Thompson endured rare off nights that even featured Curry tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, the MVP's "Strength In Numbers" supporting cast made all the timely shots and all the difference for the defending champions in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Draymond Green had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, Shaun Livingston scored a personal postseason best of 20 and Golden State's bench came up big as the Warriors beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-89 on Thursday night to move three wins from a repeat title.

The Splash Brothers? They totaled -- gasp! -- 20 points on 8-for-27 shooting, each knocking down a late 3-pointer.

"You don't win championships without the entire squad coming in and making an impact on games," Curry said. "That's why we're here."

Golden State's bench outscored the Cavs' reserves 45-10 in the opener of this Finals rematch, which the Warriors reached even with Curry missing six games with injuries this postseason.

Game 2 is Sunday night at Oracle Arena, and James knows Cleveland must adjust immediately.

"When you get outscored 45-10 on the bench and give up 25 points off 17 turnovers, no matter what someone does or doesn't do, it's going to be hard to win, especially on the road," James said. "Don't matter what you do with Steph and Klay, don't matter what you do with Draymond."

In a series with so much star power on both sides, this was a night for Livingston and fellow reserves Leandro Barbosa and Andre Iguodala. Barbosa returned from a minor back injury to shoot 5-for-5 on the way to 11 points, while 2015 Finals MVP Iguodala had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and played some stingy defense on James.

Friday, June 3

No games scheduled

Saturday, June 4

No games scheduled

Sunday, June 5

Cleveland at Golden State, 7 p.m.

NBA FINALS - GAME 2