Yet, the Warriors and Cavaliers produced enough drama to keep the storylines fresh.
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Social media users were turning LeBron James’ frustrated reaction to his teammate J.R. Smith’s error during Game 1 of the NBA Championship on Thursday into internet gold.
From there, the Warriors used that momentum in overtime, kicking off with a 7-0 run. Shaun Livingston added an old-school three-point play, making the free throw after being fouled on a throw-down dunk. Draymond Green also had yet another solid all-around game.
The Warriors would eventually prevail in overtime, outscoring the Cavaliers to take home a Game 1 victory, 124-114. Shaun Livingston added 10 points with ideal shooting from both the field and foul line. Return to this post from 12:00 to 1:30 on Friday and the comments feature will allow you to share your thoughts. I starting talk trash back. The sense is the referees just wanted another look at it so they used the restricted area as an excuse.
In overtime, the defending champion Warriors eased away from the Cavs, who had entered the game as massive underdogs.
It must be said that Smith’s blunder nearly completely overshadowed the mistakes of Golden State’s Kevin Durant, who allowed Smith to grab the offensive rebound, and Cleveland’s George Hill, who could have given the Cavaliers the lead by making his second free throw (after hitting the first attempt). By the time he realized that the game was tied it was too late. “And when I knew that, I was like, OK, that’s going to be our ball”. “We just got to be patient and not get discouraged when he makes shots and just keep playing hard”. But he dribbled out.
“I thought we were all aware of what was going on”, James said. So I knew that.
In what has become a pregame ritual, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue and his assistants listen to Meek Mill’s “Dreams & Nightmares”. “He might not have made the layup anyway”. That was only a slight exaggeration in Game 1.
Kevin Durant was driving to the basket with his team down 104-102 and 36.4 seconds left. “They called it a block, and they went and reviewed it and changed it to a charge”, Durant said”.
Hill had tied the game up at 107-107 with his first free-throw but he then missed his second attempt which was rebounded by Smith.
“The blocked charge thing, a year ago in the regular season same play happened to me”, Durant said.
“I tried to get enough space because, obviously, KD [Kevin Durant] was standing right there”.
“I guess the rule is you can review – you can review the call if it’s inside or outside the restricted, is the rule that I know”, Lue said.
“Last year in the regular season, same play happened to me”, he said.
The Golden State Warriors showed that they don’t have to be dependent on any one player as they came together as a team and delivered when it mattered.
“Expansion is not on the agenda right now”, he said.
Before then, so many other intriguing elements unfolded.
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Stephen Curry already boasts an immaculate resume, one that would guarantee him a Springfield induction even if he retired at the conclusion of the 2018 NBA Finals. The Warriors matched him up with Durant, Green, Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, Nick Young and JaVale McGee.
