Role players come up big for Warriors in first half of Game 1

In the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals or Thursday night, it wasn't back-to-back MVP carrying the load for the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Nor was it Klay Thompson or Draymond Green.

Instead, it was the role players who willed the Warriors to a 52-43 halftime lead.

Leandro Barbosa, who had just 14 points in the entire series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, scored seven points in five minutes on 3-of-3 shooting while energizing the already-electric Oracle Arena.

Harrison Barnes, who didn't start Game 7 against the Thunder but got the start Thursday night, scored nine on 4-of-7 shooting.

Shaun Livingston added six points on 3-of-4 shooting and Andrew Bogut scored eight on 4-of-5 shooting.

All in all, the "rest" of Golden State outscored the big three 34-18.

For Cleveland, Kyrie Irving led the team in first-half scoring with 13 points but shot just 3-of-12 from the field. As a whole, they shot just 35.2% to Golden State's 52.3%.

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