OAKLAND — The Warriors dispensed of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals opener Thursday night with a timely eruption of dagger three-pointers, exquisite passes, transition field goals and suffocating defense.
Theirs is the beautiful game, remember, played by really cool, really stylish customers.
So who were those guys in the waning minutes of overtime? Still stylish, but not necessarily cool. While LeBron James fumed about an overturned block/charge call, Tristan Thompson was ejected for tagging Shaun Livingston with a forearm on an inconsequential late field goal attempt, and George Hill and JR Smith attempted to overcome a blown game-winning opportunity, the Warriors stood on the court and surrounded the visitors like an angry band of brothers.