How cool. And so typical for the ultimate leader to make a gesture when his team needed a lift after being drubbed (again) by the Golden State Warriors in Game 1. “We got it to a six-point game at the end of the third and we got off to a good start to start the fourth quarter, so we thought we had some good momentum”.
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GOLDEN STATE (110): Barnes 2-7 1-2 5, Green 11-20 1-1 28, Bogut 1-4 0-0 2, Curry 7-11 0-0 18, K.Thompson 6-13 1-1 17, Iguodala 3-6 1-3 7, Ezeli 2-3 2-2 6, Speights 1-2 0-0 3, Livingston 3-4 1-1 7, Clark 3-4 0-0 7, Rush 0-0 0-0 0, Barbosa 5-7 0-0 10. And a lot of chatter in the building afterward focused on the absence of big-game responses from the other Cavaliers, something that was part of his first tour in “The Land”.
The good news for the Cavaliers is that James is practically unbeatable in the second game of a playoff series after losing the first one, according to USA Today. And I said after Game 1 we just can’t turn the ball over against a great team and expect to win, and I had basically half of the turnovers. “I’ve got to be better”. He attacked, he pushed the ball, he got this teammates involved.
Let me ask it here, before others: LeBron, without Irving and Love, was able to win two games past year. “They won two games at home”, Lue said.
The trends facing Cleveland now arrive in darker tones.
This probably won’t happen, but how wild would it be if Iggy won Finals MVP AGAIN? He isn’t this year now that the Warriors are defending champions and seeking to legitimize their 73-win season. For a lack of a better word the Cavaliers stars are being held in check while role players are excelling for Golden State.
The performance of the “Brazilian Blur” was the most surprising one of them all.
Game 1 on Thursday had been so easy, so effortless when compared to their Western Conference Finals battle against the Oklahoma City Thunder, that it would only be natural to let up in the kind of way that might invite trouble from LeBron James & Co. Defensively, the Warriors were extremely active and not allowing James to go one-on-one in the paint.
Until the 10:12 mark in the second quarter, it was clear that James’ greatness had yet to impress the Warriors fans on hand in the first 61-plus minutes of this matchup.
Love’s status doesn’t figure to help.
Curry returned to the floor and subsequently scored a three-pointer a few seconds after the fourth quarter began. If they’re going to play through LeBron James in the post, then they need to play quicker.
The Cavs will try to recover their bearings at home as the best-of-7 series shifts to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4. More than that, he’s a tool in the Warriors’ success.
“Obviously, not much is working, especially offensively”, James said afterward. But if the best all-around player in the National Basketball Association isn’t forcing the issue, it will be a quick series. Klay Thompson got hot after halftime to finish with 17 points and five assists as Golden State became the first team to go ahead 2-0 in the finals since the Lakers in 2009 against Orlando.
The repeat championship Golden State has spoken of since the very start more than eight months ago is two wins from becoming reality.
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Iguodala was also huge during the big run with two big jumpers, including a three.
