Kerr says he'd rather take anger out on clipboard than player

In the aftermath of his team's Game 1 win to open the NBA Finals, all anyone wanted to talk about was Steve Kerr's entry for the greatest clipboard smash of all time.

"Destruction tends to ease some of the anger," Kerr joked after his Golden State Warriors took a 1-0 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

When the Cavs completed a 7-0 run to cut Golden State's lead to four midway through the third quarter, Kerr, who was also complaining about a foul call that never was on Cavs big man Tristan Thompson, signaled for a timeout. Moments later, cameras caught him shattering his clipboard with a vicious punch.

"I try to take it out on a clipboard instead of a player," Kerr added in his postgame media conference. "It's better that way."

The reigning NBA Coach of the Year also discussed what he called a "strange" night, as the Warriors cruised to a 104-89 victory despite Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combining for only 20 points on 8-of-27 shooting.

"Even the best players in the world have bad nights," Kerr said. "It didn't hurt us because of our bench and our overall play, with our defensive effort and taking care of the ball."

The Warriors held the Cavs to an effective field goal percentage of 42.3, turned the ball over only nine times, and had their reserves outscore Cleveland's bench 45-10.