ESPN’s Sarah Spain Breaks Down Game 1 of the NBA Finals

Game 1 of the NBA Finals went to the Warriors in convincing fashion. A 22-point victory by Golden State behind something of a 'I can handle the pressure' statement by Kevin Durant. His 38 points on an efficient 54% shooting answered questions many people had about how the superstar would respond when standing just 4 wins away from the only acceptable result this season. When Durant signed with the Warriors nearly a year ago, among all the criticism that followed, Golden State became the heavy favorite to win the NBA championship. Immediately, "haters" emerged, rooting for any team but the Warriors to win it all and whether or not Durant is today's version of the NBA villain, the role LeBron James finally came around to embracing in Miami, KD looked the part of an assassin Thursday night.

This NBA Finals, albeit only 1 game in, is following a similar script to last year's. The Warriors won games 1 & 2 by a combined 48 points before losing game 3 at Cleveland and eventually blowing that 3-1 series lead. The question is: does Durant completely change the equation this time around? Maybe the answer is as obvious as it seems. ESPN's Sarah Spain breaks it all down for us here: