OAKLAND, Calif. — The Cavaliers unloaded their best shot, including a 51-point eruption by LeBron James that moved the Richter scale a couple of notches, and a 21-point, 13-rebound night from Kevin Love, who hours earlier was under scrutiny for concussion symptoms. The Warriors frequently shot as if they were wearing oven mitts.
Still, the Cavaliers came out on the losing end of Game 1 in the NBA Finals.
If nothing else, the Warriors said, their series concerns were confirmed while the perceptions of the general public and the media proved as reliable as the ignition on a 1950s Chevy in winter. The Warriors needed no “wake-up call,” as it was suggested to coach Steve Kerr.
“I think it’s your wake-up call. Seriously,” Kerr said on a conference call Friday, the day after his Warriors survived through grit, luck — and four All-Stars — in Game 1. “We came into this series knowing what we’re up against. We’ve seen this team three years in a row, and we’ve had these amazing battles with them. Everybody else was saying it’s going to be easy. We weren’t the ones. So I hope the media got a wake-up call.”
Cavaliers guard George Hill, one of the goats of the chippy, controversial, exciting — there were lots of descriptions — 124-114 overtime loss to the Warriors, also gave the media a dig.
“Our team is the only one who thinks we can win,” said Hill, who bricked a huge free throw with 4.7 seconds remaining in regulation. “A lot of the media counted us out. A lot of the teams counted us out. We’re not playing for you guys. We’re playing for the city of Cleveland. We’re playing for each other. We’re going to continue to stay together, rally behind it and do the best we can to try to get Game 2 [Sunday].”
Still, the Cavaliers did so much right and still came up empty. James authored the fifth-highest scoring Finals game ever, the sixth of 50 or more. But he became the first ever to do it in a loss. Not exactly the distinction he sought.
“Great performance. He did everything he could to will our team to win,” Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said.
“This right here is just a testament to what he’s been doing all year. He puts in the work. He takes care of his body. He’s always doing the right thing,” said Lue who was asked if James can find an even higher level than his 51-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist masterpiece.
“I hope so,” Lue said laughing.
The Cavs must have it. LeBron’s 51 and Love’s 21 were swamped by the 92 points from the Warriors’ four All-Stars: Stephen Curry (29), Kevin Durant (26), Klay Thompson (24) and Draymond Green (13).
“We have to continue to explore different ways to defend [James], putting different bodies on him. I didn’t think we were very good against him [Thursday]. I thought he was spectacular, but I didn’t think we made it that difficult for him,” Kerr said. “I never felt like we got him out of any sort of comfort zone. We’ve got to do a better job of that Sunday.”
The Warriors are aware how quickly it can unravel. In 2015, nobody could beat the 73-victory Warriors. Nobody — except the Cavaliers, who were in a 3-1 Finals grave with dirt being shoveled on top of them before they arose and won. The core of that Warriors team remains. They remember how quickly a series can turn and how fickle fate can be.
“I don’t expect them to still be deflated by Sunday. I know their goal is to come to Oracle [Arena] and just get one [game],” said Thompson, who proclaimed himself “sore,” but fit after suffering a first-quarter leg injury Thursday. “So we have to have it in the back of our minds that we want to protect home court. And if we don’t take care of business Sunday, we obviously lose that advantage. Game 1 is over with. I do not expect them to still be deflated. I expect them to play with great energy out of the gate on Sunday.”
Like they did Thursday, even if ultimately it didn’t matter.
