On a fast break in the first quarter of Game 1 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors, LeBron James pointed to the backboard, Kyrie Irving threw the ball there and James threw down the most demoralizing dunk of the playoffs.
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Worry not, teetotalers: LeBron didn’t actually drink the beer.
James likes to refer to Game 1s of a playoff series as a “feel out” game for him as he probes the opposition to see what is or isn’t working for him and his team.
“For the most part, we kept the energy level up for 48 minutes”, James said.
“They were well-rested, flying around – nearly like a half a step quicker than we were all night”, said Toronto coach Dwane Casey.
“I wasn’t going to run over our beer lady”, he said.
Afterward, mad at himself for missing such an easy opportunity, he strolled over to the sideline, caught a waitress walking by and pretended to take a sip of the beer she was bringing to a fan.
Serge Ibaka scored 15, while PJ Tucker came off the bench to post a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. “Enough is enough, ‘” James said, laughing.
“In the playoffs, it’s a lot better because you’ve got one assignment, you know exactly what you’re doing for seven games and what you want to take away”, Lue said. “We’ve got to find a way to limit the spurts”. “We pushed the tempo”.
“They get big spurts. But we have to find a way to not let them get going and get the crowd involved”.
Jones said he believed the referees were on high alert after Powell made contact with Kevin Love’s groin in the fourth quarter while trying to draw a shooting foul with a rip-through move.
THE Cavaliers were quick off the blocks and the Toronto Raptors simply could not catch up, the titleholders cruising to a 116-105 victory in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday in Cleveland (Tuesday, Manila time). “He changes the whole dynamic of everything”, Casey said, with unfortunate prescience for his team. We got some great looks tonight that didn’t fall. And that’s when we kick in and understand we fight well under adversity. We have done it all year. That’s been our mantra. “We won’t get comfortable, because we know what this (Toronto) team is capable of”. Perhaps most impressive, he didn’t have a turnover until the final five minutes, when the game was well in hand. The Cavaliers led 96-74 to start the fourth quarter.
Irving added 10 assists for Cleveland after posting just 12 assists through the entire first round. Backup forward Channing Frye buried one of his two looks from three-point range in the half.
Patrick Patterson… (a terrible 1-for-7 from the floor, including 1-of-5 from 3-point range) if you can’t hit an open shot, please take a seat on the bench beside Fred VanVleet and let someone else take your minutes.
James has scored at least 30 points in 88 playoff games, tying Kobe Bryant for second on the career list.
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It was clear that a primary facet of the Cavs’ game plan developed during their seven days off was to slow down DeMar DeRozan, who gave the Cavs problems last season during the Eastern Conference finals.
