OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The latest from Game 1 of the NBA Finals:
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6:10 p.m. PDT
The NBA Finals are underway.
After an eight-day break from basketball, the Warriors and Cavaliers tipped off Game 1 in front of a raucous sellout crowd at Oracle Arena. Fans turned the arena into a sea of golden-yellow shirts again as they watched the Warriors play in the finals for the first time since winning the title in 1975.
Cleveland’s Timofey Mozgov won the opening tip from Andrew Bogut, and Tristan Thompson made a turnaround jumper on the first possession. Not long after, LeBron James picked up the first foul of the finals.
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5:55 p.m. PDT
There was a calm in the Warriors’ locker room as the players were getting ready for Game 1. It was relatively quiet. Players were getting dressed or getting taped up in the trainer’s room.
About 50 reporters standing in the middle of the room, and Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Cavaliers and Hawks was playing on the big TV in the center.
Power forward David Lee, whose locker is in the far corner, says the team is eager to play after a weeklong layoff.
“Just trying to get our minds right,” he says.
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5:40 p.m. PDT
The Cavaliers weren’t exactly on a health kick in the minutes leading up to Game 1 of the finals.
Cleveland guard Iman Shumpert’s pregame meal of choice was a plate of chicken fingers and fries from a concession stand. As he ate his meal, assistant coach Tyronn Lue walked into the coaches office with a large tray of nachos.
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5:30 p.m. PDT
Things got off to a good start for Stephen Curry and the Warriors.
Curry connected on his pregame “tunnel shot” on the third try. Fans surrounding the tunnel behind the Warriors’ bench erupted in cheers, and Curry signed a few autographs before heading to the locker room.
Curry attempts the shot after his extensive warmup routine, which includes dribbling two basketballs and a series of shooting drills. Curtis Jones, the security guard assigned to the area next the Warriors’ bench, throws the ball to Curry. If Curry misses, somebody fetches the ball and tosses it back to Jones.
Curry usually repeats the routine until he makes it — or stops after five or six attempts. If the visiting team decides to warm up in front of the Warriors’ bench, Curry launches balls to the other basket — about 120 feet away — but those aren’t usually close.
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5:20 p.m. PDT
There’s been a little confusion over the color of those T-shirts fans wear at every Warriors home game during the playoffs.
Well, they’re not quite gold, and not quite yellow. Officially, the shirts are “California golden yellow.”
And the Warriors have given out quite a lot already, placing one on each of the 19,596 seats at Oracle Arena before each playoff game.
Including Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Warriors have handed out more than 175,000 shirts during these playoffs.
The slogan on the front, “STRENGTH IN NUMBERS,” is the same each time. But the slogan on the back has changed each round. Those awaiting fans before Game 1 on Thursday had “The Finals” on the back.
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