Cleveland Cavaliers 114 - 124 Golden State Warriors
In a highly contested game 1, the Warriors outlast the Cavs in OT. The Warriors stars shined to get the W, despite a monster performance from Lebron. The Cavaliers had everything go right, until the end, and still couldn’t pull out the win. Game 2 will be Sunday in Golden State.
Lebron dominates
In his highest scoring game in his playoff career, Lebron still couldn’t come up with the win. Coming out and hitting his first 7 shots, Lebron was on tonight. Finishing with 51 points, he was a force of nature all night, with only Kevin Love showing up. Scoring 21 point and grabbing 14 boards. They were in the game until it all started to unravel.
Taking the lead early, it was only until a Curry long three at the halftime buzzer to tie the game that it started looking bad for the Cavs. Tied coming out of the half, the Warriors went on a run in the 3rd, taking a 84-78 lead into the 4th. The Cavs fought back valiantly, taking the lead by one with 7 minutes left when Lebron had a blocking foul, that could easily went the other way. That’s when the game started to unravel for them. Neck and neck up until the last minute, the Cavs took a 2 point lead with under a minute left. Then Durant tied it up with free throws. Lebron answered with a driving layup, followed by Curry with an and-one. Leading by one, Lebron shot a pass to George Hill, who was fouled by Klay Thompson.
Shirtless JR Shows Up Weeks In Advance
He hit the first free throw to tie it, then missed the second. J.R Smith grabbed the board, but then ran it back to half court, seemingly forgetting the situation. He passed it back to Hill in the corner, but there wasn’t enough time left to get up a decent shot. They go back to the bench, and Lebron looks done with J.R, and it fed into the team. Being out scored 17-7 in the extra period, they just looked spent. With only seconds left in the game, Tristan Thompson took exception to a Shaun Livingston shot, fouling him. Draymond Green antagonized him, and Tristan threw the ball, maybe an elbow at his face. He got tossed, risking his availability for game 2.
In a real case of what should have been, the Cavs should have won this game. Being there right at the end, George Hill missed a clutch free throw and J.R completely forgetting the score, shot them in the foot. They could argue that there were some bad calls, but overall they still had this in their hands. Lebron played his heart out, and still couldn’t get it done. They really needed to steal one early to keep hope alive in the series, but getting gut punched like this may spell the end.
48 Isn’t Enough
The stars all showed up when it mattered for the Warriors. Curry led the bunch with 29, Durant chipped in 26 on a pretty bad shooting night, and Thompson added 24. Draymond Green came an assist shy of a triple double with a 13/11/9 statline. They had every chance to lose this game, but in overtime they pulled away. In what could have been an upset loss, turned into a Warrior win.
Fighting all first half, they tied the game with a Curry 3 pointer at the buzzer. Then like normal, they came out in the 3rd quarter and just started blitzing the Cavs. Even JaVale McGee got involved. But, the Cavs wouldn’t go away. Led by Lebron they came back and eventually took a lead with under a minute left. Having the chance to take the lead, Smith mentally fumbled the game away, leading to overtime.
Warriors Outlast
Once the period started it was over. The Warriors came out focused while the Cavs were still in shock. Jumping out to a quick 10 point lead and never looking back. Draymond Green hit a big three to seal the deal, but the scuffle with Tristan is going to be looked at by the league office. He may end up getting some sort of punishment for his retaliation. Outscoring the Cavs 17-7 it was just never in jeopardy in OT.
Being destroyed on the offensive glass 18-4, isn’t a good sign. It could spell trouble if the Cavs figure out a lineup to exploit it. But, winning this game where Lebron was godlike and the Warriors shot terrible from deep (13-36), is comforting for a team this good. They know they will get the shots falling, and if the Cavs can’t win when everything is going right, how will they when the Warriors lock in?
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