Thought we were one up …
Warriors capitalise on Cavs’ blunder to win in overtime
STEPHEN Curry scored 29 points and the Golden State Warriors capitalised on a Cavaliers blunder that sent the game into overtime, withstanding a brilliant 51-point performance by LeBron James to beat Cleveland 124-114 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals yesterday.
The game nearly over, James jawed with both Curry and Klay Thompson, then Tristan Thompson and Draymond Green tangled moments later and made contact. After replay review, Tristan Thompson received a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection with 2.6 seconds left.
James was in utter disbelief as regulation ended in stunning fashion: George Hill made the first of two free throws with 4.7 seconds left after being fouled by Klay Thompson, but when J.R. Smith secured the rebound of the second, he dribbled back toward halfcourt instead of shooting, apparently thinking the Cavs had a lead.
“He thought it was over. He thought we were up one,” coach Tyronn Lue said.
And why not? Both these teams were pushed to their limits in seven-game conference finals they each had to win on the road.
Game 2 is Sunday night back at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors have won 18 of their past 19 postseason games.
In 2015, when the Golden State beat the Cavs to capture the franchise’s first title in 40 years, the first two games of the series went to overtime — Golden State winning the opener and Cleveland Game 2.
Yesterday James made 19of-32 from the field to go with eight assists and eight rebounds in the opener of his eighth straight NBA Finals, the past four of which have been against the Warriors.
James drove past Curry for a three-point play with 50 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. But James was given a foul following a review with 36.4 seconds left and Kevin Durant converted a pair of free throws to tie it at 104.
The call had initially been a charge on 2017 Finals MVP Durant and James protested the change.
Lue was disgusted to lose this way, saying of the call being overturned with James outside the restricted area: “It’s never been done, ever in the history of the game.”
“It was great, it was epic and he did enough to carry this team to a victory,” Lue said.
”To do what he did tonight and to come up robbed, it’s just not right.”
Durant struggled with his shot but wound up with 26 points on 8-of-22 shooting and nine rebounds.
Golden State got a serious scare when Thompson went down after Smith slid hard into his left leg at the 6:17 mark of the first quarter. Thompson lay grimacing in pain then went to the locker room with what was called a bruised left leg that needed re-taping.
He returned for the start of the second quarter to huge roars from the yellow-clad sellout crowd and scored 24 points. He and Curry each connected on five three-pointers.
Curry drained one of those way-out-there three-pointers that have been hard to come by this postseason to beat the half-time buzzer and Golden State shot 13-of-36 from deep.
Kevin Love returned from a concussion to provide a big boost for Cleveland with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
The Warriors missed the defensive presence of 2015 NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, who missed his fifth straight postseason game dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee.