Wrap-Up – After rumbling through the previous seven games, the Wine and Gold knew that things would get a little more complicated when they faced off against the league’s top team in the Finals. But they still had a chance to steal Game 1 at the end of regulation before falling overtime, 108-100, on Thursday night at Oracle Arena.
The series-opening loss was painful enough, but even more concerning is the health of Cleveland’s All-Star point guard, who limped off the floor and went straight to the locker room midway through the extra-session, favoring the left knee he’s struggled with throughout the postseason.
Irving will undergo an MRI on Friday and his status will be updated before the Cavaliers try to even the series on Sunday afternoon.
LeBron James had another monster performance, going off for a postseason-high 44 points on 18-for-38 shooting to go with eight boards and six assists. James notched 11 of his 41 in the fourth quarter, but his long jumper with 3.8 to play drew back iron. Iman Shumpert snagged the rebound and fired up a desperation attempt from the corner at the buzzer. It rolled across the back of the rim and off – sending the bame into overtime.
In the extra-session, the Wine and Gold couldn’t get anything going offensively and were outscored 10-2 en route to just their second road loss of the playoffs. Each team only hit a single field goal in overtime, but Golden State’s was a bomb from Harrison Barnes that gave the Warriors a seven-point edge with just over two minutes to play. Steve Kerr’s squad was 7-for-8 from the stripe in the five-minute period; the Cavaliers didn’t attempt a free throw.
Before re-injuring his knee, Kyrie had a strong outing – following up with 23 points on 10-of-22 shooting, adding seven boards, six assists, four steals and a team-high two blocked shots, including a game-saving swat of Stephen Curry’s layup attempt with 26 seconds remaining in regulation.
The only other Cavalier in double-figures was Timofey Mozgov, who finished with 16 points and seven boards. His fellow big, Tristan Thompson, continued his postseason rebounding roll – leading both clubs with 15 boards, six of those off the offensive glass.
J.R. Smith was the only reserve to score for Cleveland in Game 1, although after a hot start, struggled down the stretch – finishing with nine points on 3-for-13 shooting, including 3-of-10 from beyond the arc.
The Warriors’ bench, meanwhile, came up big on Thursday night. Andre Iguodala led everyone with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. But overall, Golden State’s second unit outscored, essentially, J.R. Smith – 34-9.
The Cavaliers had dominated the Hawks on the boards in the previous series but it was a different story in Oakland, where the Warriors outrebounded Cleveland, 48-45.
Curry led Golden State with 26 points, going an even 10-of-20 from the floor and leading both squads with eight assists. Klay Thompson added 21 points and Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes added 12 and 11 points respectively – although Cleveland did hold them to a combined 8-of-22 shooting.
As a team, the Cavaliers shot 42 percent from the floor; the Warriors, 44 percent. Golden State shot 90 percent from the stripe while outscoring Cleveland in the paint, on second-chance points and on the break.
LBJ drops 44 points.
View some of the best snapshots.
Moz throws it down.
Go inside the locker room.
Watch final game highlights from Game 1.
Turning Point – In a game that featured 11 ties and 13 lead-changes, there wasn’t much time for turning points. But the game’s complexion definitely changed in the second quarter – and it wasn’t a good change for the Wine and Gold.
After opening up a two-touchdown lead late in the first quarter, the Cavaliers went cold in the second. Cleveland began the period up 10 – 29-19 – and after halting a Warriors run with Mozgov’s dunk on an alley-oop pass from Irving, the Cavs held an eight-point edge.
But from that point, Golden State went on a 16-5 run – punctuated by Curry’s back-to-back treys that turned a 14-point Cleveland lead into a three-point deficit. The Cavs came back to tie the game and took a three-point edge at intermission on J.R. Smith’s 29-foot bomb with 2.2 to play in the first half.
In that second quarter, the Cavaliers were outrebounded, 15-5.
By the Numbers – 13 … number of 40-point games that LeBron James has now posted in the playoffs over the course of his Hall of Fame career.
Quotable – LeBron James, on going into “beast mode” late in Game 1 …
”Well, (my teammates) expect for me to make plays. It's nothing I did tonight. It's nothing different than what I've been doing all postseason. That's just been our game plan. Guys have been able to step up and make shots and make plays. So it has nothing to do about beast mode or whatever the case. It's our game plan, and our game plan worked. We put ourselves in a position to win, we just didn't come through.”
Up Next – The Cavaliers will try to rebound from their first loss in their last eight playoff contests when they return to Oracle Arena for Sunday’s Game 2. Afterwards, the Finals shift back to Cleveland for Game 3 on Tuesday night at The Q. Game 4 is slated for Thursday night in Cleveland before the series returns to Oakland for Game 5 next Sunday. If necessary, the Finals return to The Q next Tuesday night, June 16. If the Finals go to Game 7, that’ll be played on Friday night, June 19, back at Oracle Arena.