All the chatter is that Cleveland could be deflated after they blew a golden chance to win Game 1 of the NBA finals. But LeBron James, at least, has found motivation.
“It’s one of the toughest losses I’ve had in my career,” James acknowledged on Saturday, “because of everything that kind of went on with the game and the way we played. Obviously, we all know what happened in the game.”
There were miscues aplenty, most notably when JR Smith failed to go for what would have been a winning basket in the final seconds with the game tied because he appeared to think the Cavaliers were winning. The decision baffled a frustrated and stunned James. Smith initially denied he had got the score wrong but on Saturday walked that back. “After thinking about it a lot after the last 24 hours and however long it’s been since the game was over, I can’t say I was sure of anything at that point,” Smith said.
If the incident is weighing on Smith, he didn’t show it when he spoke to reporters this weekend. “That’s pretty much who I’ve been my whole life. I’ve always been the one guy who is the butt of the jokes or the one guy who does something crazy and everybody has got to look at or whatever the case may be. And then I just come back and be myself and play the next day,” Smith said. “I don’t really dwell on things too much ... To be in that situation is tough, and it’s not a situation that everybody can handle. So I’m glad it happened to me.”
With James on the other side in this familiar June rivalry, Golden State know they do not have the series won, even if the defending champions have some momentum going into Game 2 on Sunday night at home in Oracle Arena.
The Warriors learned that lasting lesson two years ago, when James led the Cavaliers back from a 3-1 series deficit to capture the title in Game 7 on the Warriors’ home floor.
“I know it’s not the exact same team, but we had them down 3-1 a couple years ago. They might have been deflated, and they came back and won, so we’re expecting another great effort from them,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’ve been through this too many times. We beat Houston on the road in Game 1 and the narrative was, you know, series is over. It seems to always be that way. There is just overreaction after a game.”
Draymond Green didn’t sugarcoat it: Golden State got a little lucky to win Game 1 on a night James scored 51 points and the defending champions caught some big breaks. The Warriors hope to be far better with a chance to take a 2-0 series lead before the series shifts to Ohio. “Sometimes you need a little luck. It’s good to be lucky sometimes,” Green said. “I’ll take it.”
James said he is taking antibiotics and using eye drops after getting poked in the eye by Green in the first half of Game 1. The outer area of James’ eye was still red on Saturday.
Klay Thompson expects to play though is listed as questionable with what he called a sprained left ankle while Andre Iguodala remained doubtful as he works back from a bone bruise in his left knee suffered in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against Houston and has cost him the last five games. Smith slid into Thompson’s left leg in the first quarter of the series opener. Thompson was dealing with stiffness, swelling and more pain on Saturday. “It is a finals game, and I’m going to do everything I possibly can to play,” Thompson said. “It’s something you definitely don’t want to have in the NBA championship.”
Nor does James want blood in his eye to affect his vision or alter his view of the basket. So, did he score 51 with only one good eye? “No, I had some points before that already,” a good-natured James said, chuckling.