With 40 seconds left and the Hawks mounting an emotional comeback, LeBron James turned to drive and found a hole in the Atlanta Hawks' defense and a hole in their collective hearts. His forceful dunk gave the Cleveland Cavaliers the lock-hold on a 97-89 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Hawks, led by Jeff Teague (27 points), had pulled to within 4 points after facing both an 18-point deficit and a substantial left knee injury to DeMarre Carroll earlier in the quarter. But the combination of James (31 points, 6 assists) and J.R. Smith (28 points, 8-12 3-pt. FG) proved to be too much for the Hawks
"(Smith) is somebody that can get hot," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He was a priority coming into the game, and I think we can do a better job and not have any breakdowns going into the next game."
Carroll is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Tuesday, but beyond that, the injury to Carroll, which is initially being called a sprain, left open several questions headed into the rest of the series and beyond.
"DeMarre's been our glue guy all year, been playing well in the playoffs, been our best player in the past couple of series," Teague said afterward. "Hopefully, he can get back healthy soon, but one of the guys in there has to step up."
The injury occurred on a play where Carroll plucked a cross-court pass and raced the other way on a fast break. When he got in the lane, he planted awkwardly and his knee buckled. He landed out of bounds, grimaced and immediately rolled on his back to grab at it.
The Cavaliers seized control of the game with a 22-4 run in the second half that saw Smith score 17 points and toss up a successful alley-oop pass for good measure. The Hawks were unable to contest his fallaway threes, and Smith made shots with a high degree of difficulty look routine.
Smith aside, the Hawks and Cavs mostly stumbled through the third quarter, with the Hawks trying not to get called for moving screens and Cleveland trying not to get hurt. James turned an ankle after landing on a cameraman, and guard Iman Shumpert also left the game after a collision under the rim.
The Hawks came out firing to start the game, making 7 of their first 9 shots to take a 16-9 lead. But the Cavs kept it tight by crashing the offensive glass and getting the ball to Smith, who scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half.
Kent Bazemore, whose minutes are likely to increase if Carroll's injury keeps him out, hit a jump shot at the buzzer to end the half tied at 51. He finished the game with 10 points.
In the first quarter, James picked up an early second foul on the offensive end trying to fend off Bazemore in the low post, and he went to the bench with 3:04 left. LeBron also backed down Carroll a few times in the first half. Despite James' success scoring from the post, Carroll survived the half with zero fouls, which may have been by design given the Hawks' lack of depth on the wing.
Of course, that lack of depth now faces an even steeper challenge, as the Hawks try to regain a foothold in a series where they may be without Carroll, the formidable two-way forward who often refers to himself as the 'Junkyard Dog'.
"DeMarre is a complete player," Budenholzer said. "He has a big impact on both ends of the court."
Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @AnaheimAmigos