Warriors survive Game 1 vs. Cavs after J.R. Smith's blunder forced overtime

Sam Amick | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Dissecting the J.R. Smith blunder that cost the Cavs in Game 1 SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt break down a wild Game 1 of the NBA Finals and how the Cavaliers will respond after J.R. Smith's devastating gaffe.

OAKLAND — Who said this would be a boring NBA Finals?

If not for a mental lapse of the worst kind from the Cleveland Cavaliers’ J.R. Smith at the end of regulation, the Golden State Warriors might have found themselves in an early hole in this supposedly lopsided series. Instead, the defending champions survived 124-114 in overtime at Oracle Arena on Thursday in Game 1.

To call the opener entertaining and competitive is a massive understatement.

The Warriors dominated the extra period by a score of 17-7, with Klay Thompson (24 points) hitting two threes and Shaun Livingston, Draymond Green (13 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists) and Kevin Durant (26 points, nine rebounds, six assists) handling the rest of the scoring. The action turned chippy in the final seconds, as the Cavs’ Tristan Thompson gave Draymond Green a shove to the face after the two had exchanged words. Thompson, who was ejected for a late foul to Shaun Livingston, could be seen telling Green to meet him outside to continue their extracurricular activities. The play on Livingston was ruled a Flagrant 2 penalty by officials upon review.

Draymond trolling Tristan Thompson, TT mushes the ball in his face pic.twitter.com/kjikNQ10Fc — Born Salty (@cjzero) June 1, 2018

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Outside of Smith's blunder, momentum flipped on James' controversial play on Durant with under a minute left. James stepped in front of Durant, and the refs initially called a charge. After huddling and a review, the call was reversed to a block. It gave Durant two free throws, tied the score at 104 and gave the Warriors all the momentum. Neither Ty Lue nor LeBron James could fathom the reversal.

But truth be told, it never should have reached that point. Here’s how it happened.

1. Oh, J.R…

With 4.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Warriors up 107-106, Cavs guard George Hill was fouled by Klay Thompson while flashing through the lane. He hit the first free throw, but missed the second. Yet when Smith grabbed the rebound, he dribbled out as if he was trying to burn the rest of the clock – presumably because he believed the Cavs were ahead. There’s no other way of saying it: The big-time blunder cost them the ballgame.

The Warriors looked primed to coast to the finish with 4:39 left, when Green hit a three-pointer and Steph Curry (29 points, nine assists, six rebounds) followed with one of his own from the left side after losing Cavs forward Kevin Love in the process. Curry jumped and pumped his right fist as Cleveland called timeout, as Golden State led 100-94.

But James just kept coming.

James cut through the defense for an all-alone layup, then turned the corner on Curry on the right side for a hammer dunk that sparked the oohs and aahs as Golden State led 100-98. James went at Curry again soon thereafter, driving by him on the right side and going through Kevon Looney for a layup, foul and a free throw to tie the game. James hit another runner with 32 seconds left to give Cleveland the 106-104 lead.

The Warriors, who had just 23 fourth-quarter points, continued their recent habit of struggling to execute in late-game situations. And if not for Smith’s miscue, it would have cost them.

J.R. Smith explains strange play in Game 1 Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith explained his thinking on the strange final play of regulation in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, while other players and coaches detailed what they saw.

2. AN EPIC LEBRON PERFORMANCE WASTED

James, who finished with a playoff career-high 51 points on 19 of 32 shooting while adding eight rebounds and eight assists, has every right to be fuming after this one. It was his eighth 40-plus point outing in 19 games during these playoffs, matching Jerry West for the most 40-point playoff games in a single year since 1964 (according to Basketball-Reference.com).

3. ALL THAT QUALITY CAVS WORK...FOR A TIE

As halftime ties go, this one was as demoralizing as they come for Cleveland.

The Cavs had dominated the Warriors on the boards (25-12), kept Durant in check (four of 11 shooting), and enjoyed the fruits of James’ labor yet again (24 points on nine of 11 shooting, four assists) early on. There was even the unintended benefit of seeing the Warriors’ four-time All-Star Klay Thompson miss the second half of the first quarter, as he suffered a left leg injury early when J.R. Smith tumbled into him pursuing the ball.

But with the Cavs up by as many as 11 points midway through the second quarter, Curry buried a 38-footer at the buzzer that trumped it all. With just a few seconds remaining, Durant passed ahead to Curry on the left side as Cavs guard J.R. Smith gambled for the steal. That left Curry all alone from long range – never an inviting prospect for his opponents no matter the distance.

When his three-pointer fell through, it completed a 16-5 run to end the half and electrified the building. Curry savored the shot, flashing one…two…then three fingers and a grin as he played to the crowd. Curry was off to a very strong Finals start, tallying 15 points on six of 11 shooting in the first half to go with six assists.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

The JaVale McGee fan club grew at the start of the third quarter, when the Warriors center took Kevon Looney’s spot in the starting lineup and had perhaps the best three-minute stretch of his career. He stopped James on two straight possessions with stunning defensive agility, blocked a Tristan Thompson shot and had a layup and a dunk on the other end.

But shortly thereafter, Curry passed out of a double team in the left corner and found McGee all alone underneath the rim. He couldn’t find his bearings, jumping up and into the rim for the self-inflicted block.

And somewhere, Shaquille O’Neal was ecstatic that he had yet another “Shaq-tin a fool” clip for his TNT segment.