NBA Finals 2016: LeBron James fumes as Golden State Warriors bench secures victory over Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James maintained the Cleveland Cavaliers had only themselves to blame after taming the Golden State Warriors most explosive offensive weapons yet still losing game one of the NBA Finals.
Golden State's formidable guard duo of Klay Thompson and MVP Stephen Curry were kept to just 20 combined points yet the Warriors still emerged 104-89 victors on their home court on Thursday night, their bench providing 45 points whilst Cleveland's managed 10.
The Cavaliers gave up 17 turnovers, conceding 25 points, leaving their fine work against the reigning champions' starters counting for naught.
James could not be blamed for the defeat, falling just one dime short of a triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. But he was in no mood to toast his own performance.
"Don't matter what you do with Steph and Klay, don't matter what you do with Draymond (Green)," James said. "Give up 45 points off the bench and 25 points off turnovers on the road, it's not a good ingredient to win."
"We had a chance in that third quarter [when the Cavaliers briefly held the lead] to do something special, but we didn't counter and do it. Didn't make it happen in the fourth quarter. So I'm looking forward to seeing the film session and seeing ways we can get better going into Game 2, and I think our team will as well."
The re-run of 2015 Finals, which the Warriors won 4-2, continues in Oakland on Sunday.
