Draymond Green had 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, Shaun Livingston scored a personal postseason best of 20 and Golden State's bench came up big as the Warriors beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-89 on Thursday night to move three wins from a repeat title.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson endured rare off nights totalling 20 points on 8-for-27 shooting, each knocking down a late 3-pointer.

Leandro Barbosa returned from a minor back injury to shoot 5 for 5 on the way to 11 points, while 2015 finals MVP Andre Iguodala had 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and some stingy defense on James.

James kicked off his sixth straight finals with 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, but cold-shooting Cleveland went 38.1 percent from the floor. Kyrie Irving, lost to a devastating knee injury in a Game 1 overtime defeat last year, scored 26 points, 11 on free throws.

Kevin Love made an impressive finals debut with 17 points and 13 rebounds after missing last year's run with a dislocated shoulder that required surgery.

Game 2 is Sunday night back at Oracle Arena.