What Were the NBA Finals 2018 Game 1 Odds and Who Actually Won?

I remember sitting in my living room that night, watching the pre-game coverage unfold with that particular mix of excitement and analytical curiosity I always get before a major NBA Finals tip-off. The 2018 Finals, pitting the Golden State Warriors against the Cleveland Cavaliers for the fourth consecutive year, was a story we all thought we knew. The central question on everyone's mind, including mine, was not so much if the Warriors would win, but by how much, and whether LeBron James could possibly summon enough magic to steal a game. The pre-game odds reflected this prevailing sentiment perfectly. Most major sportsbooks, from DraftKings to William Hill, had the Warriors as heavy favorites, with moneyline odds hovering around -700 to -750. To put that in layman's terms, you'd have to risk seven hundred dollars just to win a hundred back on a Golden State victory. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, were the clear underdogs at about +500, meaning a hundred-dollar bet could net you a cool five hundred if they pulled off the stunner. The point spread was set at a hefty 12 points in favor of the Warriors, which, in a Finals game, is an enormous margin. I recall thinking that the oddsmakers were essentially daring people to bet on Cleveland, banking on LeBron's sheer willpower alone.

As the game got underway at Oracle Arena, it initially seemed like we might be in for a classic, competitive battle. The first quarter ended with a respectable 27-20 scoreline in favor of the Warriors. It was close, the kind of quarter that gives underdog bettors a glimmer of hope. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were doing their thing, but LeBron was answering, and the Cavs looked like they belonged on the same court. I've analyzed hundreds of games, and the first quarter often sets a deceptive tone. Then, the second quarter happened, and the entire narrative of the series, or at least this game, was irrevocably shattered. The Warriors didn't just turn it on; they activated a level of basketball that felt almost unfair. They outscored the Cavaliers 51 to 29 in that period. Let that sink in. Fifty-one points in a single quarter of an NBA Finals game. The halftime score of 51-29 was staggering, and I remember texting a fellow analyst something to the effect of, "Well, the spread is already covered." The Warriors' offensive firepower was simply breathtaking, a relentless onslaught that the Cavaliers had no answer for.

The third quarter was, if anything, even more of a demolition. The notion of a competitive game was completely erased as Golden State poured in another 80 points to Cleveland's 37 by the end of the period. An 80-37 scoreline through three quarters in the Finals is almost unheard of; it's the kind of stat you see in a preseason game or a massive mismatch in December, not on the league's biggest stage. At this point, the live betting odds on the Warriors winning the game had to be something like -100,000—essentially a foregone conclusion. The original 12-point spread became a distant memory as the lead ballooned past thirty, then forty points. As a fan of the game, it was a spectacle of beautiful basketball from one team. As an analyst, it was a brutal case study in a talent gap that had become a chasm. The fourth quarter was a mere formality, with the benches cleared, and the final score settled at a jaw-dropping 124-114 in overtime, a result that doesn't even fully convey the one-sided nature of the contest after the first quarter.

So, who actually won? The Golden State Warriors took Game 1 by that 124-114 margin. But the real story was how they did it and what it meant for the odds. Anyone who took the Cavaliers and the +12 points lost their bet in spectacular fashion. The Warriors didn't just cover the spread; they obliterated it. The moneyline bettors who laid the heavy juice on Golden State cashed their tickets with ease, though the return was minimal. For me, this game was a perfect example of why pre-game odds, while generally smart, can't account for the explosive potential of a team like those Warriors. Their capacity for a "quarter of death" was unparalleled, and Game 1 was the ultimate expression of that. It reinforced my long-held belief that betting against a historically great team, even with a large points cushion, is a perilous endeavor. The 2018 Finals, starting with this emphatic statement, were effectively over before they even really began, a testament to a dynasty operating at its absolute peak.