LeBron James gave it everything he had, repeatedly willing the Cleveland Cavaliers back into the game and even putting them in position to win in regulation, but the Golden State Warriors found their offense in overtime and walked away with an unsettling 124-114 victory in Game 1 of the N.B.A. finals on Thursday.
All the talk coming into the game had been about this being one of the largest mismatches in finals history. The Warriors would be running out a lineup full of All-Stars against a Cavaliers team that relied far too heavily on James. But proving that the games are played for a reason, the Warriors barely survived at home despite getting 29 points from Stephen Curry, 26 points from Kevin Durant and 24 points from Klay Thompson.
Each of the Warriors stars had their moments, but none could compare to the incredible performance by James, who had a personal-postseason-best 51 points in 48 minutes.
James, who used an enormous physical advantage to dominate on both ends of the court, contributed eight assists and eight rebounds to go with his eighth game of this postseason scoring 40 or more points. He endured a vicious poke to the eye from Draymond Green, and there was seemingly nothing Golden State could do to slow him down as he repeatedly brought his team back from what seemed like the brink of disaster.
Unfortunately for James, not all of his teammates were quite as locked in as him. In the final seconds of regulation, with the score tied, J.R. Smith was able to get an offensive rebound of a missed free-throw by George Hill, but seemingly unaware of the score he dribbled into space, effectively running out the clock.
All the talk coming into the game had been about this being one of the largest mismatches in finals history. The Warriors would be running out a lineup full of All-Stars against a Cavaliers team that relied far too heavily on James. But proving that the games are played for a reason, the Warriors barely survived at home despite getting 29 points from Stephen Curry, 26 points from Kevin Durant and 24 points from Klay Thompson.
Each of the Warriors stars had their moments, but none could compare to the incredible performance by James, who had a personal-postseason-best 51 points in 48 minutes.
James, who used an enormous physical advantage to dominate on both ends of the court, contributed eight assists and eight rebounds to go with his eighth game of this postseason scoring 40 or more points. He endured a vicious poke to the eye from Draymond Green, and there was seemingly nothing Golden State could do to slow him down as he repeatedly brought his team back from what seemed like the brink of disaster.
Unfortunately for James, not all of his teammates were quite as locked in as him. In the final seconds of regulation, with the score tied, J.R. Smith was able to get an offensive rebound of a missed free-throw by George Hill, but seemingly unaware of the score he dribbled into space, effectively running out the clock.
