The only person who could stop LeBron James in Game 1 was JR Smith. Golden State took home Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday 124-114 in overtime, but Smith had a chance to end it in regulation.
With the game tied 107-107 with 4.6 seconds left, George Hill missed a free throw, but Smith grabbed the offensive rebound. All he had to do was call time out or just get a shot up.
He instead ran the ball out past the 3-point line and ran the clock out. He simply thought the Cavaliers had the lead — they didn't. That cost Cleveland a shot at winning the game in regulation.
James finished with 51 points, an NBA finals high for him, but it wasn't enough for a win.
Golden State was able to overcome a less-than-stellar shooting night for the victory as Stephen Curry led the way with 29 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
"Game 1s are always weird because you come off a series playing a certain team for seven games and there's a feeling-out process trying to get used to (playing) against the old foes that we've been facing the last four years," Curry told ESPN after the game. "So glad to get the win and now we can really adjust."
Game 2 will tip off Sunday at 5 p.m. ET at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
STUD OF THE NIGHT
Kevin Durant overcame an 8-for-22 shooting night to score 26 points in addition to nine rebounds and six assists.
DUD OF THE NIGHT
JR Smith didn't shoot the ball that well, hitting only three of 10 shots, but he also made an unforgivable blunder at the end of regulation, losing track of the game situation and trying to dribble out the clock with the score tied. He also finished with a dreadful minus-20 rating for the game.
HIGHLIGHT
Some of the most entertaining basketball of the night took place when JaVale McGee locked up LeBron James one-on-one.
WHAT'S NEXT
Cavaliers (0-1) at Warriors (1-0) Sunday, 5 p.m. ET — The Cavaliers just gave the Warriors their best shot. Cleveland was 6-1 this postseason when LeBron James scored at least 40 points and they just lost once when he did just that. But the supporting cast wasn't great as they shot a combined 37 percent from the floor. But if anyone other than LeBron can get going the Cavaliers could bounce back with a win.
Comments
SHARE