Stephen Curry versus LeBron James. Cleveland Cavaliers versus Golden State Warriors. This series is expected to be as entertaining of a Finals that there's been in a while. Game 1 lived up to that potential on Thursday night. Stephen Curry scored 26 points and had eight assists to help the Warriors overcome a 14-point deficit and take game 1 from the Cavaliers 108-100 in overtime.
LeBron James scored 44 points and recorded six assists in the loss. He shot 18-of-38 from the field and added eight rebounds in 46 minutes. James missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer in the final seconds, while Iman Shumpert's putback was just short at the buzzer. The Cavs missed their first eight shot attempts of the extra session, and 12 straight going back to the final quarter.
Cleveland's struggles got worse in overtime when Kyrie Irving went down and limped to the locker room. It seemed to be an aggravation of his left knee injury, but Irving says he felt something "different." The Cavs' point guard was very emotional when he left the game early. He missed two games in the Eastern Conference Finals due to knee and foot injuries, but looked to be healthier after the nine-day layoff.
Irving finished the game with 23 points and six assists before the early exit.
The series is expected to be close and competitive throughout, and they got off to that kind of start in game 1. There were 13 lead changes and 11 ties in the overtime game. The Warriors outshot the Cavs by just 2.8 percent, outrebounded them by three, and had five more assists in the win.
The big difference was the Golden State bench outscoring Cleveland's bench 34-9, with J.R. Smith being the only Cavalier reserve to score. He finished just 3-of-13 from the field.
Game 2 of the series will return to Oracle Arena on Sunday night.
LeBron James scored 44 points and recorded six assists in the loss. He shot 18-of-38 from the field and added eight rebounds in 46 minutes. James missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer in the final seconds, while Iman Shumpert's putback was just short at the buzzer. The Cavs missed their first eight shot attempts of the extra session, and 12 straight going back to the final quarter.
Cleveland's struggles got worse in overtime when Kyrie Irving went down and limped to the locker room. It seemed to be an aggravation of his left knee injury, but Irving says he felt something "different." The Cavs' point guard was very emotional when he left the game early. He missed two games in the Eastern Conference Finals due to knee and foot injuries, but looked to be healthier after the nine-day layoff.
Irving finished the game with 23 points and six assists before the early exit.
The series is expected to be close and competitive throughout, and they got off to that kind of start in game 1. There were 13 lead changes and 11 ties in the overtime game. The Warriors outshot the Cavs by just 2.8 percent, outrebounded them by three, and had five more assists in the win.
The big difference was the Golden State bench outscoring Cleveland's bench 34-9, with J.R. Smith being the only Cavalier reserve to score. He finished just 3-of-13 from the field.
Game 2 of the series will return to Oracle Arena on Sunday night.
