Oakland, California, Jun 3 (EFE).– The defending champion Golden State Warriors showed off their vaunted depth in a 104-89 victory here over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, cruising to the win despite uncharacteristically poor performances by their top two scorers: two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry and star shooting guard Klay Thompson.

Curry had just 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field and Thompson contributed only 9 points on 4-of-12 shooting Thursday night at Oracle Arena.

But reserve guard Shawn Livingston picked up the slack by scoring a team-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while forward Andre Iguodala came off the bench to play outstanding defense on Cavaliers great LeBron James and also contribute 12 points and seven rebounds.

The Cavaliers were led by Kyrie Irving and James, who scored 26 points and 23 points, respectively. Those two stars, however, missed 27 of their 43 shot attempts for the contest.

For the game, the Cavaliers shot just 38 percent from the field, while the Warriors, who also got 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists from do-it-all forward Draymond Green, made 49 percent of their shot attempts.

The Warriors are known for the 3-point marksmanship of Curry and Thompson, known as the Splash Brothers, but on Thursday night those two guards made only nine of their 27 attempts from long range.

Golden State’s 3-point defense, however, was a big factor in the outcome, as the home team held the 3-point happy Cavs to just 7-of-21 shooting from distance.

The Warriors led by nine points (52-43) at halftime before the Cavs briefly took the lead in the third quarter.

But Golden State put the game out of reach by going on a 29-8 run after Iguodala was struck in his private parts by Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova (according to the referees, inadvertently).

“You don’t win championships without the entire squad coming in and making an impact on games. That’s why we’re here,” Curry said afterward, adding that Game 1 was “weird but fun.”

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who coached Golden State to the title last season and was a five-time champion as a player, also praised his team’s bench play and Iguodala in particular, saying the forward is “one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around.”

Game 2 of this best-of-seven championship series, a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals that was won by the Warriors, will be played Sunday night, also at Oracle Arena. EFE

In Costa Rica, leading Pay-Per-Head provider IDSca.com reports that local sportsbooks are seeing plenty of action in favor of the Warriors.

The odds are clearly on Golden State’s side after Game One. The Cavs are by no means done: some sportsbooks in Costa Rica have them listed at +167.

The Warriors are -119, which means that bettors could win an easy $100 if they wager at least $119 on Golden State to once again beat the Cavs in the NBA Finals.