So when the defending champions Golden State Warriors needed a spark off the bench to fight off a Cleveland Cavaliers rally in Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals, it was no surprise he had the grit and determination to see them through. The Cavaliers were held to 38 percent shooting and committed 17 turnovers. But he was in no mood to toast his own performance.
Advertisement
“You appreciate how tough it is to get back here”, Steph Curry said in his press conference after the game.
“My team has always been able to recalibrate, look at the mistakes that we had in Game 1 and come up with a better game plan in Game 2 and be able to execute it”, James said.
Lue’s message was reminiscent of January, when his first order of business when taking over the coaching job from David Blatt was to make a point of the Cavs’ need to put their foot on the gas.
“I think we’re in a good place psychologically and mentally”, said Kevin Love, who had 17 points in Game 1.
In those nine Game 2 victories, James averaged 29 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists, and in the four Finals games he has won after losing the opener, he averaged 30.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists. Curiously, J.R. Smith not only scored just three points in Game 1, but he only shot the ball three times in 36 minutes. But it also had to do with Golden State’s defense, which threw multiple players (Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes) at LeBron James and was constantly one step ahead of the Cavs. Thompson had four points and three fouls at halftime as the Warriors still led 52-43. “I feel good about how we played”.
Over the last 10 games in which a James-led team lost game one, every game two led to a win.
It was, as coach Steve Kerr said, a unusual game – watching Curry and Thompson miss and miss and miss and at one point they just looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed. LeBron James (23 points) and Kyrie Irving (26 points) need help from their bench. They weren’t bumped as they ran through the lane, and Steph Curry wasn’t fighting his way through the 2016 version of the Jordan Rules, like he was against Oklahoma City. Livingston, who became the first player in league history to lead the winning team in scoring in Game 1 of the NBA Finals after not leading his team in scoring during the preceding regular season or playoffs, made a number of nifty plays that included cutting to the basket, dribbling off the pick and grabbing offensive rebounds for second-chance points.
“The situation that happened, it kind of got me fired up”, Iguodala said. That’s the biggest differential for the Warriors’ bench all sea-son.
Advertisement
“They did that to us last season”. “We just missed tough shots at the rim”.
