LeBron put on quite a show last night, scoring 44 points, getting 8 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists in Game One of the NBA Finals. But it was not enough to beat the homestanding Warriors, who pulled out a 108-100 victory in overtime.
Game Two is Sunday night in Oakland. It will be worth watching. The LeBrons have to win to avoid going down 2-0, but the Warriors have to win to avoid losing home court advantage.
Kyrie Irving got hurt in Game One, which means that LeBron is now trying to win the NBA Title without Irving or Kevin Love, who was injured in the first round of the playoffs. This would seem to be a hopeless task, but the Cavs lead 62-59 after three quarters of Game Two.
ReplyDeleteCavs still hanging on. They lead 69-64 with 8:44 left. Steph Curry has only 10 points in this game. LeBron has 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists.
ReplyDeleteAfter 40 minutes, Cleveland leads 71-64. I always check this score, since that's the length of a college game.
ReplyDeleteCleveland leads 72-66 with 5:47 left. Curry still has 10 points, and that's not going to get it done.
ReplyDeleteIf you've ever wondered how the Bill Russell Celtics could go on the road and win huge games against the Jerry West Lakers, then you should be watching tonight. The Warriors have been out-rebounded 46 to 32, and they are shooting only 38 percent from the field. The Cavs are shooting only 36 percent, but they're taking more shots. LeBron has 34 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists, and the Cavs lead 83-72 with only 3:17 left.
ReplyDeleteI think Bill Russell gets my vote for the all-time most valuable player among the three major team sports in the United States.
DeleteOn the other hand, this weekend I was looking over pre-Russell NBA history, and it's pretty impressive the impact of Joe Fulks of Birmingham/Kuttawa, Cliff Hagan of Owensboro, Frank Ramsey of Madisonville, Ralph Beard of Hardinsburg and even John Oldham of Beaver Dam during that era.
Like the hare desperately trying to catch the tortoise, Steph Curry has suddenly awakened. He scores 5 quick points, and the Cavs now lead 85-80 with 2:35 to go.
ReplyDeleteLeBron misses and Klay Thompson scores his 33d and 34th points of the game. Cleveland's lead is now 85-82 with less than 2 minutes to go.
ReplyDeleteDown 87-85 with less than a minute to go, Golden State has the chance to tie or take the lead, but Harrison Barnes misses a two-point jumper, and the Cavs get the rebound. 39.4 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteThe Cavs hold the ball for a long time, but some guy I've never heard of misses a jump shot. Curry charges down the court and gets an easy lay-up to TIE THE GAME at 87 with 7 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteCavs should get the last shot.
On the last play of regulation, LeBron drives down the lane and MISSES a highly contested layup. Time expires and for the second game in a row, these two teams are going to OT.
ReplyDeleteThe Warriors are rolling now, and should put Cleveland away in overtime.
LeBron finishes regulation with 36 points, 14 points, and 10 rebounds. It wasn't enough.
ReplyDeleteIn the last 3:17 of regulation, the Warriors outscored Cleveland 15-4.
Someone named Iman Shumpert makes a three-pointer, and then someone named LeBron James makes two FT's, and the Cavs are up 92-87 with 3 minutes left.
ReplyDeleteBut wait, here comes the hare. The Warriors get two quick buckets to make the score 92-91 with 2 minutes left. Timeout Cleveland.
ReplyDeleteLeBron doesn't score, then the GSW doesn't score, and then Cleveland doesn't score again. Timeout for the Warriors with 1:14 left.
ReplyDeleteGolden State almost has to win this game, as Cleveland only has one player who is worthy to be in the playoffs at all.
Golden State can't score, and then Cleveland can't score, and now we're having a jump ball with 45.4 seconds left. Cleveland still leads 92-91.
ReplyDeleteSomething goes wrong with the tip ball, and the ball goes over to the Warriors. LeBron is very angry.
Steph Curry gives a fake, J.R. Smith falls for it, and Curry jumps into Smith. Foul. Two shots for Curry. 29.2 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteNow they're showing highlights of J.R. Smith making a whole series of bad fouls down the stretch. He can't do any more of that tonight; he has fouled out.
ReplyDeleteCurry makes both FT's, and the Warriors lead 93-92. Timeout Cleveland.
This is the first time the Warriors have been in the lead since the second quarter.
ReplyDelete29 seconds left.
Curry is 5-22 from the field in this game. That's the only reason it's close.
ReplyDeleteLeBron's driving shot is BLOCKED by Draymond Green, and the ball goes out of bounds. Cavs ball with 18.5 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteJames drives again, and kicks out to someone I've never heard of, who misses. Matt Dellavadova, who I have heard of, gets the rebound and is fouled. He makes both free throws, and the Cavs lead 94-93 with 10.1 seconds to go.
ReplyDeleteThe Warriors should have the last shot, and surely they will now win this game.
ReplyDeleteCurry is 2-15 from three-point range in this game.
ReplyDeleteCurry tries a step-back two with Dellavadova all over him, and SHOOTS AN AIRBALL. The ball goes straight to LeBron James, who is fouled with 4.4 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteLeBron misses the first one. He makes the second one. 95-93 Cavs.
The Warriors have 4.4 seconds to go the length of the court (they are out of timeouts). Shumpert breaks up a pass from Curry to Klay Thompson, and THE CAVALIERS HAVE WON THE GAME.
ReplyDeleteFinal score: Cleveland 95, Golden State 93 (Overtime).
LeBron finishes with 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists.
LeBron was amazing, but the Warriors should have won this game.
ReplyDeleteWow. That was a clunky, clanky finish.
ReplyDeleteI watched a good bit of the second half of Game 3, and the whole thing felt like one of the days when Coach Haskins was busy with something or another and he'd just bring out a bunch of basketballs for us to play with during gym class. At different points in the game last night, it seemed like there were too many guys on the court at once. A few of them were interested in only wrestling each other for the ball. Every so often, some guy would get interested in something odd like trying to throw the ball off the backboard or the rollout bleachers as hard as he could. There'd always be some little guy who would run around really fast, get the ball and throw up these impossible, looping shots from weird places around the floor; sometimes he'd get on a streak and hit four or five in a row, and it really was pretty amazing to see what he could do next. That guy's Stephan Curry. Then there'd be the one guy in class who would score pretty much every time either the ball came to him or he decided to get in the middle of all the crazy guys and get the ball for himself. That's the only guy in the whole class who actually plays for the school's varsity basketball team, and that guy is LeBron James.
ReplyDeleteWhen I fell asleep last night, there were about 30 seconds to play. LeBron's team had been ahead by a lot of points for most of the second half, but then at the end Stephan Curry got on a streak of hitting those really long shots. His team was back within four.
I look forward to reading Go Heath's next "NBA Update" and learning which team won.