It was a truly unusual night, as the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 104-89, in Game 1 of the N.B.A. Finals. But the Warriors never felt comfortable thanks to the struggles of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. As they go about figuring out what went wrong with their star shooters, dissecting what went right for Golden State is far easier. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have nothing but questions. Here’s what we learned in Game 1.  Much will be made of the offensive struggles of both Curry and Thompson, but the Golden State Warriors guards had the luxury of not having to be at their best thanks to a veteran-laden bench that rose to the occasion, scoring 45 points. Since the Splash Brothers rarely have two bad games in a row, the Warriors’ bench winning a game for the team could pay remarkable dividends going forward.  “We’re not used to having both Steph and Klay off like that with their shooting,” Coach Steve Kerr said after the game. “But the one thing we’ve talked about all year is if we defend and take care of the ball, then we’re always going to have somebody score enough points for us, whether it’s the starters or the bench.”  The most impressive member of the Golden State bench was backup point guard Shaun Livingston. A free agent pickup before last season, Livingston has proved himself capable of handling the offense when Curry needs a rest, and did well as a starter when Curry injured his knee earlier in the playoffs. In Game 1 of the finals, he set a career high in terms of playoff scoring with 20 points on 8 of 10 shooting to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. He was a constant thorn in Cleveland’s side, hitting numerous midrange jumpers that can seem antiquated in the 3-pointer-heavy Golden State offense, but proved remarkably effective on Thursday. The Cavaliers could not adapt for his combination of quickness and length.  Not to be outdone, Leandro Barbosa, the 33-year-old shooting guard known as the Brazilian Blur, provided a huge burst of energy with 11 points in just 11 minutes, hitting each of the five shots he took. Maybe it’s the horse medicine he drinks to keep him young.  The reserve unit managed to outscore Cleveland’s bench 45-10, but they also outscored their own team’s star player 45-11. They essentially took a game that, because of the struggles of Curry and Thompson, should have been a Golden State loss and turned it into a win.  Andre Iguodala, last season’s Finals M.V.P., picked up where he left off against LeBron James, forcing the larger forward into a number of bad shots and harassing him to the point of immense frustration. Along the way, he also contributed 12 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Amazingly, he managed to come away from the game having only committed one personal foul, which is hard to believe considering his size disadvantage against James. This will no doubt be dissected on the internet by those who believe Golden State was getting preferential treatment from the referees.  Asked about Iguodala’s ability to defend without drawing many fouls, Kerr said it was a credit to his style of play.  “He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around at both ends of the floor,” Kerr said. “So he understands angles, he anticipates plays, he anticipates moves from individual players. He studies his opponents, and he’s smart.”  When J.R. Smith was with the Knicks, the belief was always that if you lived by J.R., you would die by J.R. After riding Smith and Channing Frye for much of the playoffs, the Cavaliers saw their outside shooters become non-factors in the game. Frye, who came into the game hitting 57.8 percent of his 3-pointers, went 0-for-1 from the field for 2 points. Smith, who was hitting 46.2 percent, shot 1-for-3 for 3 points.  As a team, Cleveland shot 38.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range, but the cold streak from two players who had been at the absolute peak of their ability coming into the series is what the team should be trying to fix going into Game 2.  Cleveland had clawed its way back into the game at the end of the third quarter, and they were down 71-68 with 34 seconds left when Matthew Dellavedova slapped at either the ball or Andre Iguodala’s groin, depending on who you ask. The Cavaliers guard ended up receiving a common foul and Iguodala, after a lengthy discussion among the referees, was not penalized for his violent reaction to the play. Cleveland never recovered their momentum, and were outscored by Golden State, 33-21, the rest of the way.
The Cavaliers have a lot to overcome if they’re going to have a chance against the Warriors in this series.