It's a damn good thing Matthew Dellavedova showed up to play early.
The Cleveland Cavaliers somehow survived a first quarter without scoring from Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, or LeBron James on Sunday, finishing the first frame of Game 3 down just 24-21.
Love and Irving are injured, but that's not to say James wasn't playing. He was. He was shooting, too. In heavy volume.
But James turned in the worst shooting quarter of his career, opening the game 0-of-9 from the floor. These weren't bad shots, either, as he went 0-of-2 from outside, 0-of-2 in the mid-range, and an unfathomable 0-of-5 at the rim, where he shot 71.1 percent this season.
LeBron James 0-for-9 in the first quarter, including 0-for-5 at the rim. Shot chart: pic.twitter.com/F6bBehQFNH
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) May 25, 2015
It's the first time in his 171-game playoff career that he's gone even five field goal attempts without a make in the first quarter and stands as just his 10th bucketless playoff first quarter ever.
It was a weird quarter all around, as Cleveland shot 22 percent as a team, grabbed nine of their own misses, and didn't muster a single second-chance point. The Cavs hung in by shooting 4-of-9 from outside, led by seven points from Dellavedova.
Cleveland 1-for-11 in the basket area & 1-for-13 in the paint, 2-for-18 inside arc during first quarter. Lid on the rim. Hawks 24-21 after 1
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 25, 2015
James would open the second quarter by missing a triple before finally getting on the board with a pair of free throws 16 minutes into the game, then hitting a six-footer a minute later.
As those who have followed James' career closely may have expected, James rebounded from the cold start - he'd finish the 114-111 overtime victory with 37 points on 14-of-37 shooting with 18 rebounds, 13 assists, and three steals.
The poor start was unprecedented territory for the four-time MVP, who entered Game 3 averaging 27.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, and eight assists in the playoffs while shooting 43 percent from the floor. In the first two games of the series, he scored 61 points on 22-of-48 shooting, though his 3-point stroke remains missing in action at 16.1 percent for the postseason.
