After an eight-day break, the NBA's top teams and biggest stars put on quite a show.
Only one kept it up for 53 minutes.
And only one survived without a serious injury.
Stephen Curry had 26 points and eight assists, and the Golden State Warriors held off LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for a thrilling 108-100 overtime victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.
“It was just a classic five minutes that we needed to get that win,” Curry said of the overtime.
In the finals for the first time in 40 years, the Warriors gave their long-suffering fans quite a treat. They rallied from an early 14-point deficit, absorbed a finals-best 44 points from James and shut down Cleveland in the extra session.
James shot 18-of-38 from the field and had eight rebounds and six assists in 46 minutes. But the four-time MVP missed a long jumper at the end of regulation, and Cleveland missed their first eight shots of overtime – and 12 straight going back to the fourth quarter.
“We got to do more around him,” Cavs coach David Blatt said.
Adding to the Cavs’ frustration, point guard Kyrie Irving limped to the locker room after aggravating his troublesome left knee in overtime. He did not return.
With Kevin Love already out, the Cavs obviously need Irving. He missed two games in the Eastern Conference finals because of knee and foot injuries and sounded unsure of his status for Game 2 on Sunday in Oakland.
“Obviously you can see in the tone of my voice I’m a little worried,” said Irving, who buried his head in his hands at his locker and left on crutches.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he hopes Irving is able to play the remainder of the series.
“I mean that,” Kerr said. “You probably don’t believe me, but I mean that.”
There were 13 lead changes and 11 ties in a game tightly contested across the board. There was little edge in shooting (Warriors 44.3 per cent, Cavaliers 41.5 per cent), rebounding (Warriors 48, Cavaliers 45) or assists (Warriors 24, Cavaliers 19).
The biggest difference might have been the benches. The Warriors’ reserves outscored the Cavs’ 34-9, with JR Smith the only Cleveland reserve to score – and he was 3-of-13 from the field.
In the end, it came down to the biggest stars making plays – or not.
James and Curry carried their clubs through the fourth quarter, trading scores and assists in a back-and-forth duel in front of a sellout crowd of 19,596 – most wearing those blinding, golden yellow shirts. Both also had a chance to win the game in regulation.
Curry, the current MVP, beat Irving off the dribble and moved in for the go-ahead lay-up. Instead, Irving blocked Curry from behind, Smith came up with the rebound and the Cavs called a timeout with 24.1 seconds left.
James, trying to end Cleveland’s 51-year city-wide championship drought, dribbled down the clock and missed a contested jumper over Andre Iguodala just inside the left arc, and Iman Shumpert’s desperation shot nearly went in at the buzzer, sending a collective sigh through the crowd.
The Cavs never came so close again.
“I got to where I wanted to get, step back, made them before,” James said. “It’s a make or miss league, and we had our chances.”
James hit a game-winning three over Iguodala two seasons ago with Miami from almost the same spot. Iguodala wasn’t about to let it happen again.
“I kind of knew that play he wanted to get into, just going left, step back, and I was right there on him,” Iguodala said.
Curry drew two deep shooting fouls at the start of overtime and made all four free throws, and Harrison Barnes hit a corner three just in front of the Cavs bench to give Golden State a 105-98 lead with 2:02 to play that had fans screaming at full throat.
Irving, who finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, limped to the bench trying to shake off his troublesome left leg after the play. He was replaced by Matthew Dellavedova.
The Warriors went ahead 108-98 on free throws with 1:16 to play. James’s lay-up with 8.9 seconds left accounted for Cleveland’s only points in overtime.
James, who missed three shots and had two turnovers in overtime, walked off the court in frustration as time expired.
Klay Thompson, who wasn’t cleared to play until Tuesday after suffering a concussion last week, scored 21 points and Iguodala added 15 points for a Warriors team that started slow but closed with a flurry.
“That’s what we’ve been doing the whole year,” Thompson said, “wearing down teams.”
*Associated Press
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