Warriors hold off cavs to win game 1

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.

“He thought we were up one,” a frustrated Coach Tyronn Lue said at his postgame news conference.

Smith, though, claimed Lue’s assertion was incorrect.

“No, I knew it was tied,” he said. “I thought we were going to take a timeout because I got the rebound. I’m pretty sure everybody didn’t think I was going to shoot it over KD right there.”

Regardless of his knowledge of the score, the enormous mistake wasted what looked like a plum opportunity to steal a road win from a team that has been accused of ruining the game with its sheer dominance since Durant came in as a free agent. It also left James with nothing to show for one of the best games of his career.

Asked what adjustments the Warriors could make to slow down James going forward, coach Steve Kerr, as he often does, made light of the situation.

“We held back a lot of strategy tonight,” he said to a chorus of laughs. “We’ve got so many things up our sleeves. We’re going to shut them down next game.”

But even with James doing anything he wanted, and Kevin Love looking like a worthy second fiddle as he contributed 21 points and 14 rebounds in his first game since being cleared from the concussion protocol, it still seemed as if the talent-deep Warriors would run away with the game after making their typical second-half adjustments.

Curry tied the game with a buzzer-beating 38-footer at the end of the first half — one of three shots he hit from 29 or more feet away in the half — and a 10-3 run to start the third quarter had the game following a familiar script. Nearly all the hallmarks of a Warriors win were there, including a stat-stuffing line from Green of 13 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, five steals and three blocks, but James just kept willing his team back, proving that he was not susceptible to the exhaustion that seems to plague so many Golden State opponents in the second half.

The Cavaliers, though, were clearly frustrated after an overturned call in the fourth quarter helped swing the momentum toward Golden State, and Smith’s horrible mistake at the end of regulation appeared to cost Cleveland what seemed like near-certain victory.

The overturned call came on what was initially ruled a charge against Durant. After a review, it was determined that James had committed a foul, and Durant’s two free-throws tied the game at 104-104.

James protested the change, and Lue, in his postgame remarks, claimed such a decision had never been made in the history of the game on a play outside the restricted area.

The overtime reset let the Warriors take a breath and calm down, at which point the defending champions were off to the races.

Durant hit a pair of free throws to start the scoring, Thompson hit a 3-pointer, and Shaun Livingston connected on a midrange jumper and a dunk in what would be a 9-0 run, and the Warriors closed the extra period having outscored the Cavaliers, 17-7.

Kerr, who often shows his frustration with players during games, tried to put his team’s struggles in some perspective in light of the victory.

“I thought we were pretty good,” he said. “I didn’t think we were great. I didn’t think we were bad. I think we can play better.”

He added, “But it’s not like we came out there and stunk it up.”

Green, who brushed off a late-game altercation with Tristan Thompson that occurred after Thompson was ejected from the game, was fine with Kerr’s having said the win was partially a result of luck. He was just happy it ended with his team on top.

“Sometimes you need a little luck,” Green said. “You know, it’s good to be lucky sometimes. So I’ll take it.”

While now in a 1-0 hole in the best-of-seven series, Cleveland could be revitalized by the close game, and has a chance to even things up and steal home court advantage, if they can get a win in Game 2 on Sunday in Oakland. To prevent that, the Warriors must slow down James, which would be much easier if Golden State could get Andre Iguodala back from a bone bruise that has kept him out since Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. He’s slowed down some with age, but Iguodala won the 2015 Finals MVP largely for his work in defending James.