Golden State Bench Win Game 1 Of The Finals Against Cavs

OAKLAND – From those courtside seats at Oracle Arena all the way up to the nosebleeds, the yellow T-shirts that made this place look like the surface of the sun on Thursday night carried the same Golden State Warriors message.

“Strength in Numbers.”

The defending champions picked the perfect time to live up to their own motto, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-89 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on the backs of their bench players.

Shaun Livingston, their backup point guard who was signed as a free agent two summers ago, in part, because of his ability to defend the Cavs’ LeBron James, had 20 points on eight of 10 shooting. Andre Iguodala, the Finals MVP from a year ago who showed the basketball world how valuable he can be, had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Leandro Barbosa, who signed to a collective yawn in Sept. 2014 when so many believed the shelf life on his career had expired, had 11 points in just 10 minutes. In all, the bench outscored Cleveland's 45-10.