MANILA, Philippines – The Golden State Warriors survived Lebron James’ monster 51-point game in an overtime, 124-114 to seal Game 1 on Friday, June 1, 2018 (Manila Time) at The Oracle Arena, Oakland California, USA.
Prior to the much awaited Finals re-match, basketball fans and experts have already made a conclusion Golden State is the clear winner of the series. Simply because Cleveland lacks the firepower to match the Dub’s “Big 5”.
Almost everyone has already counted out on Lebron James and the Cavs. But lo and behold, James erupted as soon as he stepped on the hardwood and traded baskets with the Warriors. Lebron James had already jotted down 9 with over 7 minutes in opener while Stephen Curry had 6.
It was an unfortunate event when JR Smith accidentally slipped on the floor and hit Klay Thompson in the left knee. Thompson was assisted to the locker room for further evaluation.
Surprisingly, Cleveland kept the score tight and had the slight advantage over Golden State after the 1st quarter, 30-29. Lebron James had 12 points in 4/4 shooting in the opening period.
Lebron James continued to score in the 2nd period together with his backup center Larry Nance Jr. who enjoyed converting looseballs to sure points.
Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson was given an opportunity to contribute to the team. But the Finals first-timer looked nervous and just made 1 out of 6 field goals in few minutes. Despite Clarkson’s shooting woes, the Cavs were still up by a double-digit midway of the 1st half.
The Warriors made an incredible 13-2 run to level the score at 53 with a little over a minute left in the 2nd quarter. Kevin Durant led the scoring blitz while Stephen Curry orchestrated the plays on the floor.
Stephen Curry ended the 1st half with a buzzer beater from his comfort zone for the equalizer 56-all.
The “3rd Quarter Avalanche” trend carried on for the Warriors where everyone on floor goes on attack mode in the said period. With just 3 minutes gone by, Golden State had ramped up its lead to 7.
As expected, Lebron James made his own ways to keep the game close. James recorded his 31st point of the game with over 5 minutes left in the penultimate quarter.
It didn’t take that long for the Warriors to recover from James’ scoring onslaught as they managed to bring the lead back courtesy of Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant to end the third in 74-68 note.
A series of three pointers helped the Cavaliers cut the lead to just 1 during the early phase of the final period. Both Kyle Korver and Jeff Green bucketed their first triples of the game while Lebron James got nearer to another 40-point game.
Golden State hit the 100th-point mark off Stephen Curry’s trey and gave the Warriors a 6-point lead with 4:44 left on the clock.
Lebron James rallied by driving hard to the basket and finally snatched the lead from the Warriors 104-102 with 58 seconds remaining in the game.
During the Warriors’ possession, the refs whistled Kevin Durant for an offensive foul but overturned it and charged Lebron James with a blocking foul instead after a review. Durant drained his 2 foul shots to tie the game.
Stephen Curry broke the deadlock and gave the Warriors a 1-point lead with 23 seconds left in the game clock.
George Hill got fouled by Klay Thompson and split his charities. Cavs got the board with the score tied at 107 but missed the potential game winner as the regulation ended and sent the game into an over time.
The Warriors got the head start at the beginning of the overtime as they posted a 7-point lead or a 7-0 run.
Lebron James posted a 51 huge markers but the Warriors’ championship composure and experience prevailed that handed them game number 1, 124-114.
Game 2 will be on Monday, June 4, 2018 at 8am (Manila Time), still at the Oracle Arena.
— Joey Boy Capos, The Summit Express
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| The 2 best players of this generation meet up again for the 4th time. Unfortunately, Lebron James’ 51 big points were not enough to beat Stephen Curry and the Warriors in game 1 | Photo Credit: Clutch Points |
Prior to the much awaited Finals re-match, basketball fans and experts have already made a conclusion Golden State is the clear winner of the series. Simply because Cleveland lacks the firepower to match the Dub’s “Big 5”.
Almost everyone has already counted out on Lebron James and the Cavs. But lo and behold, James erupted as soon as he stepped on the hardwood and traded baskets with the Warriors. Lebron James had already jotted down 9 with over 7 minutes in opener while Stephen Curry had 6.
It was an unfortunate event when JR Smith accidentally slipped on the floor and hit Klay Thompson in the left knee. Thompson was assisted to the locker room for further evaluation.
Surprisingly, Cleveland kept the score tight and had the slight advantage over Golden State after the 1st quarter, 30-29. Lebron James had 12 points in 4/4 shooting in the opening period.
Lebron James continued to score in the 2nd period together with his backup center Larry Nance Jr. who enjoyed converting looseballs to sure points.
Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson was given an opportunity to contribute to the team. But the Finals first-timer looked nervous and just made 1 out of 6 field goals in few minutes. Despite Clarkson’s shooting woes, the Cavs were still up by a double-digit midway of the 1st half.
The Warriors made an incredible 13-2 run to level the score at 53 with a little over a minute left in the 2nd quarter. Kevin Durant led the scoring blitz while Stephen Curry orchestrated the plays on the floor.
Stephen Curry ended the 1st half with a buzzer beater from his comfort zone for the equalizer 56-all.
The “3rd Quarter Avalanche” trend carried on for the Warriors where everyone on floor goes on attack mode in the said period. With just 3 minutes gone by, Golden State had ramped up its lead to 7.
As expected, Lebron James made his own ways to keep the game close. James recorded his 31st point of the game with over 5 minutes left in the penultimate quarter.
It didn’t take that long for the Warriors to recover from James’ scoring onslaught as they managed to bring the lead back courtesy of Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant to end the third in 74-68 note.
A series of three pointers helped the Cavaliers cut the lead to just 1 during the early phase of the final period. Both Kyle Korver and Jeff Green bucketed their first triples of the game while Lebron James got nearer to another 40-point game.
Golden State hit the 100th-point mark off Stephen Curry’s trey and gave the Warriors a 6-point lead with 4:44 left on the clock.
Lebron James rallied by driving hard to the basket and finally snatched the lead from the Warriors 104-102 with 58 seconds remaining in the game.
During the Warriors’ possession, the refs whistled Kevin Durant for an offensive foul but overturned it and charged Lebron James with a blocking foul instead after a review. Durant drained his 2 foul shots to tie the game.
Stephen Curry broke the deadlock and gave the Warriors a 1-point lead with 23 seconds left in the game clock.
George Hill got fouled by Klay Thompson and split his charities. Cavs got the board with the score tied at 107 but missed the potential game winner as the regulation ended and sent the game into an over time.
The Warriors got the head start at the beginning of the overtime as they posted a 7-point lead or a 7-0 run.
Lebron James posted a 51 huge markers but the Warriors’ championship composure and experience prevailed that handed them game number 1, 124-114.
Game 2 will be on Monday, June 4, 2018 at 8am (Manila Time), still at the Oracle Arena.
— Joey Boy Capos, The Summit Express
