Basketball On The Internet.

IT was all ball, at least that’s what it looked like when Matthew Dellavedova swatted at Andre Iguodala and connected with him, “down under”.

The Cavs had that kind of night as Golden State reminded everyone why it is the defending NBA champion with a comfortable 104-89 win in Game 1 of the Finals today.

Seriously now, if someone told you pre-tipoff that the “Splash Brothers” would go for 20 points BETWEEN THEM and at combined 8-of-27 shooting but the Warriors would win by 15, would you have believed that?

So the scariest aspect of GSW’s win is that it will be better, while Cleveland most definitely has to improve for this to be the series for which everyone is hoping.

When a team sets a new NBA record 73-9 regular season, then recovers from a 3-1 deficit in the Conference Final against Oklahoma City, you cannot be under any illusion it will fold under pressure.

What you CAN do is believe the Cavaliers might be better than what they are – they are certainly better than what they showed in Game 1 – but are they good enough?

In 2014 when Hawthorn was taken to a three-point game in the AFL preliminary final by Port while Sydney was smashing North Melbourne by about 15 goals, many believed that easier run would pay for the Swans in the Grand Final.

Non-Hawks fans tended to forget these guys play tough games every week so when the big day rolled around, Hawthorn smashed Sydney.

Fast-forward to the NBA and Golden State’s battles through the playoffs, with Steph Curry out injured and OKC attacking them with such earnest belief.

Remember, for two years now the Western Conference has been a nightmare to negotiate just to get this far. There have been so many quality contenders with San Antonio, the Clippers before Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were injured, and of course the Thunder ensuring the road would be a difficult one in 2016.

Meanwhile Cleveland was beating Toronto after sweeping Detroit and Atlanta.

It’s easy to be fooled into believing all that rest and good health would spell more trouble for the Warriors, but from the outset they played as if they knew they have the better team and now only had to prove it.

Golden State did not revert to “small ball” as per 2015 but instead stayed with starter Andrew Bogut and the 213cm centre opened both halves as the first scorer and had 10 points.

The Warriors had seven players in double figures and Klay Thompson wasn’t one of them!

Shaun Livingston came in and provided a playoff career-best 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Leandro Barbosa was a perfect 5-of-5. Draymond Green had 16 points and 11 boards, plus seven assists, Harrison Barnes 13, Iguodala 12.

With 34.1 seconds left in the third, Iguodala took issue with Dellavedova’s swat into his groin but after the referees spent an interminable amount of time reviewing the incident, agreed it was no more than a personal foul on Delly and not a flagrant.

Of course that did nothing for Delly’s reputation but his demeanour was exemplary.

Iguodala iced a 3-pointer less than eight seconds after play resumed, Golden State taking a 74-68 lead into the final quarter.

When the Warriors opened the fourth on an 8-0 run, Cleveland was reeling, the margin blowing out to 20 at 96-76 as GSW showed its “strength in numbers” is a way of life and not just a motto.

LeBron James went close to a triple-double with 23 points, 12 boards and nine assists but after starting strongly, was generally contained, Kyrie Irving’s game-high 26 points came on 7-of-22 shooting but Kevin Love enjoyed a solid outing for the Cavs with a 17-point, 13-rebound double.

There's work to be done before Monday's Game 2 at Oracle Arena.

NBA FINAL
G1: Golden State 104, Cleveland 89
Golden State leads 1-0

NBA PLAYOFFS
WESTERN CONFERENCE
FINAL:
G1: Golden State 102, Oklahoma 108
G2: Golden State 118, Oklahoma 91
G3: Golden State 105, Oklahoma 133
G4: Golden State 94, Oklahoma 118
G5: Golden State 120, Oklahoma 111
G6: Golden State 108, Oklahoma 101
G7: Golden State 96, Oklahoma 88
Golden State wins 4-3

SEMI FINALS:
G1: San Antonio 124, Oklahoma 92
G2: San Antonio 97, Oklahoma 98
G3: San Antonio 100, Oklahoma 96
G4: San Antonio 97, Oklahoma 111
G5: San Antonio 91, Oklahoma 95
G6: San Antonio 99, Oklahoma 113
Oklahoma advances 4-2

G1: Golden State 118, Portland 106
G2: Golden State 110, Portland 99
G3: Golden State 108, Portland 120
G4: Golden State 132, Portland 125 in o/t
G5: Golden State 125, Portland 121
Golden State advances 4-1

FIRST ROUND:
G1: Golden State 104, Houston 78
G2: Golden State 115, Houston 106
G3: Golden State 96, Houston 97
G4: Golden State 121, Houston 94
G5: Golden State 114, Houston 81
Golden State advances 4-1

G1: Oklahoma 108, Dallas 70
G2: Oklahoma 84, Dallas 85
G3: Oklahoma 131, Dallas 102
G4: Oklahoma 119, Dallas 108
G5: Oklahoma 118, Dallas 104
Oklahoma advances 4-1

G1: San Antonio 106, Memphis 74
G2: San Antonio 94, Memphis 68
G3: San Antonio 96, Memphis 87
G4: San Antonio 116, Memphis 95
San Antonio advances 4-0

G1: Los Angeles 115, Portland 95
G2: Los Angeles 102, Portland 81
G3: Los Angeles 88, Portland 96
G4: Los Angeles 84, Portland 98
G5: Los Angeles 98, Portland 108
G6: Los Angeles 103, Portland 106
Portland advances 4-2

EASTERN CONFERENCE
FINAL:
G1: Cleveland 115, Toronto 84
G2: Cleveland 108, Toronto 89
G3: Cleveland 84, Toronto 99
G4: Cleveland 99, Toronto 105
G5: Cleveland 116, Toronto 78
G6: Cleveland 113, Toronto 87
Cleveland wins 4-2

SEMI FINAL:
G1: Cleveland 104, Atlanta 93
G2: Cleveland 123, Atlanta 98
G3: Cleveland 121, Atlanta 108
G4: Cleveland 100, Atlanta 99
Cleveland advances 4-0

G1: Miami 102, Toronto 96 in o/t
G2: Miami 92, Toronto 96 in o/t
G3: Miami 91, Toronto 95
G4: Miami 94, Toronto 87 in o/t
G5: Miami 91, Toronto 99
G6: Miami 103, Toronto 91
G7: Miami 89, Toronto 116
Toronto advances 4-3

FIRST ROUND:
G1: Indiana 100, Toronto 90
G2: Indiana 87, Toronto 98
G3: Indiana 85, Toronto 101
G4: Indiana 100, Toronto 83
G5: Indiana 99, Toronto 102
G6: Indiana 101, Toronto 83
G7: Indiana 84, Toronto 89
Toronto advances 4-3

G1: Atlanta 102, Boston 101
G2: Atlanta 89, Boston 72
G3: Atlanta 103, Boston 111
G4: Atlanta 95, Boston 104
G5: Atlanta 110, Boston 84
G6: Atlanta 104, Boston 92
Atlanta advances 4-2

G1: Cleveland 106, Detroit 101
G2: Cleveland 107, Detroit 90
G3: Cleveland 101, Detroit 91
G4: Cleveland 100, Detroit 98
Cleveland advances, 4-0

G1: Miami 123, Charlotte 91
G2: Miami 115, Charlotte 103
G3: Miami 80, Charlotte 96
G4: Miami 85, Charlotte 89
G5: Miami 88, Charlotte 90
G6: Miami 97, Charlotte 90
G7: Miami 106, Charlotte 73
Miami advances 4-3