Game 1 of the NBA Finals was worth the torturous eight-day wait.
Despite a personal NBA Finals-best 44 points from LeBron James, the Golden State Warriors managed to eke out a 108-100 overtime victory in front of a raucous Oracle Arena crowd.
The Cleveland Cavaliers played more or less to the letter of the gameplan that would give them a chance in this series. James played unbelievably, Draymond Green was in foul trouble, Tristan Thompson was an absolute terror on the glass, and they were able to slow the pace for long stretches with isolation post-ups and offensive rebounding.
And still, they came out on the wrong end. The Warriors had narrow edges everywhere at the team level, and the performances of James and Kyrie Irving, who was terrific before leaving overtime injured after re-aggravating his left knee injury, wasn't enough to carry what's become essentially a seven-man rotation.
The Cavaliers have two days off for Irving to hopefully heal up and make some adjustments, but letting a winnable game slip away on the road hurts a great deal. Their margin for error in the series was thin, and it's now appreciably thinner.
Turning Point
It is more or less impossible to highlight a single stretch of play that swung this game. The Cavs started out better, the Warriors had a hot second quarter to pull back to even, and the second half was played as close to a draw as the rules allow.
It was tied at half. It was tied entering the fourth. It was tied when Steph Curry checked back into the game with 7:41 to play. It was tied when Timofey Mozgov tipped an offensive rebound with 1:16 on the clock to get the Cavs a timeout and an extended possession.
They didn't capitalize, and Curry made them pay, canning a go-ahead 20-footer with 53 seconds to go. And then Mozgov tied things up with a pair of free throws. Are you getting the picture yet?
Steve Kerr on coaching his first Finals game: "This is so much fun."
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) June 5, 2015
That's when something only thought possible for a brief moment in the first quarter happened again: Irving recovered after initially losing a step to block a Curry layup. James would miss a potential game-winner, and the game was off to overtime. One of the most incredible playoff games of the year, and likely ever, was off to overtime. It's like the basketball gods felt they owed us one for the layoff.
And then the Warriors broke out a super-small lineup with Green at center, watched Irving aggravate his left knee injury, and shut out the Cavaliers for more than four minutes of the extra frame for their first NBA Finals victory since 1975.
Star Performer
This is James' fifth consecutive NBA Finals appearance and his sixth overall. For him to be setting any kind of personal bests is remarkable, and Thursday was one of his best scoring performances yet.
James finished with 44 points on 18-of-38 shooting, 2-of-8 from long range, and 6-of-10 from the free-throw line. His 3-point stroke continues to be missing in action, but this was otherwise a heroic individual performance, even with a career-high in field goal attempts.
Players to score 42+ in a Finals game via @bball_ref. Add LeBron to the list. pic.twitter.com/XcZHaX3Cpz
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) June 5, 2015
James also kicked in eight rebounds and six assists, with the dime total being somewhat muted as the Cavs went cold from outside - they shot 9-of-31 on threes - and the Warriors opted to stay close to shooters and play James 1-on-1.
LeBron James scored, assisted, or created 64 of the #Cavs 100 points in Game 1 of the #NBAFinals
— Synergy Sports Tech (@SynergySST) June 5, 2015
For one night, at least, that trade-off allowed James to score a prodigious number of points but still worked out in Golden State's favor.
Highlight Reel
Buckle in. There were a lot of terrific highlights in this one - which should surprise nobody. Among them:
- Curry draining a pregame hallway three to the delight of Guy Fieri.
- Andre Iguodala passes up an open three to blow by James for a dunk. Then strips the four-time MVP for another. Then hits a three with one shoe. It was a weird night.
- Curry was red-hot for the entire second quarter after Irving surprisingly helped contain him in the first.
- Mozgov was throwing down all over the place, too.
There are some plays that 29 teams would never think of making. The Warriors are the exception, as evidenced by this possession, where Andrew Bogut passes up an attempt at the rim to kick it out for a Klay Thompson three. No matter that he missed - the Warriors got the offensive rebound and Thompson buried his second attempt.
And they make passes like this.
And they have Curry, who is an offense unto himself.
E-40's performance at half may have fired up Oracle, but it was another Earl who started halftime off with a bang.
Series at a Glance
Game 1: Warriors 108, Cavaliers 100 (OT) (Warriors lead series 1-0)
Game 2: Cavaliers at Warriors, Sun. June 7, 8 p.m. ET
Game 3: Warriors at Cavaliers, Tue. June 9, 9 p.m. ET
Game 4: Warriors at Cavaliers, Thu. June 11, 9 p.m. ET
*Game 5: Cavaliers at Warriors, Sun. June 14, 8 p.m. ET
*Game 6: Warriors at Cavaliers, Tue. June 16, 9 p.m. ET
*Game 7: Cavaliers at Warriors, Fri. June 19, 9 p.m. ET
Check out the comprehensive guide to the NBA Finals for more.
Alternate Series at a Glance
Guy Fieri: "Wish I could cook like that" pic.twitter.com/OIAO0RjnxV
— Rock 'Em Apparel (@RockEmApparel) June 5, 2015
