LeBron James Scores 44 vs. Warriors: Stats, Highlights and Twitter Reaction
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James came to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but his extraordinary efforts weren't enough, as the Golden State Warriors won, 108-100, in a thrilling overtime opener Thursday night.
A final stat line of 44 points, eight rebounds and six assists likely won't go down as one of the better all-time Finals performances, though, since the Cavs couldn't pull off the victory at Oracle Arena.
Bleacher Report's Ethan J. Skolnick alluded to how much of the burden James carried:
Although James missed a long two-point shot at the end of regulation that would've given the Cavs the win, he was otherwise fantastic on an evening his inexperienced teammates needed him most.
ESPN.com's Mike Wise analyzed the final sequence in the fourth quarter:
An inconsistent jumper has plagued James throughout these playoffs. Thankfully his leadership and unique distributing ability has compensated for it.
Prior to Game 1, James made some interesting comments that evolved into a major storyline.
"If you put everything together as far as my mind, my body, my game. If you put everything in one bottle, this is probably the best I've been," James said, per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin.
The reporter was reminded of what The King proclaimed amid Thursday's dazzling display:
When watching James carve up the Warriors defense in defeat, Todd Fuhrman of Fox Sports 1 thought of Michael Jordan:
ESPN's Tom Haberstroh provided context for James' stupendous scoring output:
Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix raised a great point just before overtime began, making the Game 1 loss all the more difficult for James and the Cavs to digest:
The epic performance The King put on brought to mind his first stint in Cleveland, where he often carried a lackluster supporting cast. Other than a 3-of-13-shooting J.R. Smith netting nine points, no one from the Cavs bench scored. The firepower from the backups was a big reason why the team got to this stage of the playoffs.
Kyrie Irving has been banged up in the postseason and played a magnificent Game 1 (23 points, seven rebounds, six assists) before limping to the locker room hurt again in overtime. The Cavaliers announced the point guard hurt his left knee, according to Skolnick. If he's unable to play, these NBA Finals could end in abrupt fashion.
One big positive came from Timofey Mozgov, who benefited from James setting him up often and scored 16 points, including two on the following dunk:
ESPN Stats & Info further highlighted the imbalance from Cleveland's core once Irving exited:
James has a knack for elevating the play of those around him, and he'll need to do that as well as he has in his entire career. He can't pull so much weight against the Western Conference champions if the Cavs are meant to win four times, especially if Irving is out or limited.
Game 2 is Sunday, providing James with some time to recover from a contest where he had a tremendous usage rate. Ball movement became rather stagnant for the Cavs as Game 1 wore on, with James or Irving too often in isolation situations.
James has to cut back on hero ball, become even more of a point forward and trust his teammates to sink outside shots. Such a strategy will allow him to conserve himself for when the series goes back to Cleveland on Tuesday, build his supporting cast's confidence and enhance the Cavs' odds of stealing a road win.
