Warriors’ Curry, Thompson say they must play better in NBA Finals

No player scored quite like Stephen Curry this season, as the NBA MVP averaged a league-high 30.1 points.

Klay Thompson’s scoring exploits also are formidable. He averaged 22.1 points this season, and last season, he scored 37 in one quarter against the Kings.

So what happened in Game 1 of the NBA Finals? The Splash Brothers barely caused a ripple, combining for 20 points in the Golden State Warriors’ 104-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On a night when Curry and Thompson made only 8 of 27 shots, the Warriors won because their bench produced 45 points and the other starters helped pick up the slack.

But Golden State’s formula for a second consecutive NBA championship likely doesn’t involve Curry and Thompson in supporting roles and Shaun Livingston leading the offense off the bench, as he did with 20 points Thursday. Curry and Thompson form the league’s most prolific scoring backcourt, so the odds they will struggle again are slim as the series resumes Sunday at Oracle Arena.

“We joked about it a couple times, but we don’t let it get us down, because it takes four games to win, and it could be a long series; you never know,” Thompson told reporters Saturday. “Bad shooting nights happen. It’s rare we both have one in the same night, but that’s what our team’s for. They did a great job picking us up, and, yeah, we just told ourselves we’ve got to be better throughout the series, and I think we’ll respond.”

Curry, who is averaging 25.4 points this postseason, scored 11 in Game 1. He said he will not enter Game 2 intentionally trying to reach his averages.

“I don’t think I need to press the score, certain amount of points or whatnot, but being more decisive with the ball,” Curry said. “Obviously, making open shots and running our offense at a high level (helps). I’ve got to play better for sure.”

The Cavaliers will try to duplicate their defensive effort against Curry and Thompson and again hope many of the tough shots they tend to make do not fall.

Thompson, who is averaging 25.2 points this postseason, said Cleveland’s strategy wasn’t unique.

“Nothing we haven’t really seen all playoffs,” he said. “Just the same old trying to run me off the three-point line, take away obviously my shots along the perimeter and any catch-and-shoot looks.”

Curry exhibited his frustration with his performance when he threw his mouth guard to the floor after making a late three-pointer.

“There’s a couple times I was just indecisive, and that got me in trouble,” he said. “There will be times the way that they’re guarding us that if I don’t have the ball, I have to make decisive cuts; I have to set good screens and continue to get movement on the floor to make them make hopefully some mistakes defensively and then go from there.”

While the Cavaliers can’t expect Curry and Thompson to shoot poorly again, they will improve their chances by playing better offense and cutting down on the 17 turnovers that led to 25 Golden State points.

This story was originally published June 4, 2016 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Warriors’ Curry, Thompson say they must play better in NBA Finals."