The best news for the Warriors coming out of Game 1, other than that they won, was their improved production late in the close game. It’s been a while since they looked competent down the stretch.



Against Cleveland, the Warriors scored 17 points on 62.5 percent shooting in six minutes in the clutch, which the NBA defines as the final five minutes of regulation (plus overtime) when the score is within five points. They still weren’t without issues in the half-court. But they finally were able to get some action going.



It was a far cry from how they had looked. The Warriors totaled 19 points in their previous five games that included clutch time. The Warriors entered the Finals with an offensive rating of 77.9 in the clutch. Only the Indiana Pacers were worse among playoff teams. Meanwhile, the Warriors’ clutch-time defensive rating was 104.9. More on that later.



Part of the problem? They hadn’t been in many close ballgames. The...