When the final whistle of the first game sounded, James raised his arms and shouted, looking extremely excited.
Being able to win a victory at the league's No. 1 home court was achieved when both the second and third leaders of the team were reimbursed for the season, so the victory was particularly precious.
James played 50 minutes in the game, making 11 of 5 shots, 14 of 18 free throws, 9 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 turnovers.
The other two Cavaliers who scored in double figures were Mozgov and Smith, who scored 17 points and 1 point respectively.
Klay Thompson scored the most points for the Warriors. He played 46 minutes, making 14 of 8 shots, 1 of 4 three-pointers, 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Curry was severely guarded. He made 5 shots from the field and 15 from the field. He only scored 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers.
Both teams shot three-pointers poorly. The Cavaliers made 9 of 7 shots, with a shooting percentage of .%, and the Warriors made 8 of 5 shots, with a shooting percentage of only .9%.
The Cavaliers won mainly on rebounds and free throws. In the whole game, the Cavaliers got 55 rebounds, 10 more than the Warriors. In terms of free throws, the Cavaliers had 40 and made 8 of them, while the Warriors only had 5.
, hitting 19 of them.
In terms of turnovers, the Warriors also had 5 more than the Cavaliers.
Even so, the Warriors only lost by two points in the end.
If Curry had chosen to be more cautious and luckier, the outcome of the game might have been different.
Bogut played the entire game for 5 minutes and only scored two points on free throws.
Facts have proved that the dead 5 is the real choice for the Warriors. With Bogut and Green on the court, the Cavaliers dare to attack Curry unscrupulously.
In addition, even if Bogut is on the court, the Warriors cannot take advantage of the rebounds, and the Death 5 players do not suffer much in rebounds on the court.
If Steve Kerr started with the top five and further increased Iguodala's playing time, the results would probably be different.
In addition, because this is the first time the Warriors have played in the finals, the Cavaliers are specifically making a fuss about Curry. The Warriors have not done a very good job in delaying Curry. They have repeatedly given James opportunities to distribute the ball.
Give it to the outside three-point shooter, or get in between the two and rush inside to score.
Of course, Cole is a novice as a head coach, and Curry and others are also reaching the Finals for the first time, so there is nothing we can do about it.
…
Two days later, on June 9, 2015, the first game between the Cavaliers and Warriors officially started at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
As soon as the Cavaliers came up, James was asked to play in isolation at 45 degrees, and the other three players opened up the space.
Facing Barnes' defense, James broke through from the baseline to the basket and made a layup, taking the lead in scoring two points.
It's obvious that Barnes is still worse than Iguodala at guarding James.
Steve Kerr's defensive arrangement also has some problems.
The Cavaliers have two insiders, Mozgov and TT, who have no shooting ability. There is no need for Green to follow TT. He can come to help defend James. Bogut can just stare at Mozgov and TT near the penalty area.
Already.
In the first quarter of the game, James Stone scored 6 points on three shots, three rebounds, one assist, and two turnovers.
TT was very active at the basket, scoring 6 points and 7 rebounds, including three offensive boards.
Again, even if Bogut is on the court, there is no advantage in rebounding.
Curry still failed to find a rhythm. In this quarter, he only hit one three-pointer, scored three points, three rebounds and three assists.
Fortunately, although Curry's touch was not good, using his containment, Iguodala and others got many easy scoring opportunities.
After the first quarter, the score became 4:0, and the Warriors were 4 points behind.
In the second quarter, Curry still didn't find a chance to take a shot. He only took one shot and didn't score.
The Warriors' best performer in this quarter was Iguodala, who scored 6 points in a single quarter.
For the Cavaliers, James made 7 shots, scored 7 points, and had 6 rebounds and assists.
Relying on James Jones's final three-pointer, the Cavaliers opened the point difference to 7 points at the end of the half.
James and Dellavedova broke out in the first quarter. James made 5 of 9 shots and scored 1 point, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.
Dellavedova made 4 of 5 shots in a single quarter and scored 10 points.
Dellavedova's three-pointer was pretty good, and he played very decisively. He and Mozgov picked and rolled, Curry habitually bypassed the screener, and Dellavedova didn't hesitate, raising his hand.
Throw the basketball hollowly into the net.
In addition, Delavitua's small throws near the penalty area after the pick-and-roll also have a high hit rate.
Relying on the explosive offensive performance of the two men and the team's outstanding defensive performance, the Cavaliers outscored the Warriors for 8:18 in this quarter. After three quarters, the Cavaliers led by 17 points.
In this quarter, Curry scored 7 points on 5 shots, Klay scored 5 points on 4 shots, Bogut hit two goals under the basket at the beginning of the quarter and scored 4 points, and then Barbosa hit a long two-pointer from the outside.
, apart from that, no one else scored.
Green missed the shot, and when he reached the basket, he was blocked by Mozgov and fell to the ground. Ezeli, on the other hand, was so good that he couldn't dunk the basketball in the open space under the basket. Iguodala didn't even take a shot.
Barnes also had no touch and made zero of two shots.
Trailing by 17 points and playing on the road again, the Warriors played very hard.
At the beginning of the 4th quarter, Dellavedova singled out Barbosa near the penalty area. Barbosa intercepted the ball with a big block and missed the fast break, but Iguodala picked up the offensive rebound and scored a tip-in.
Then Dellavedova shot a three-pointer in a pick-and-roll, but the basketball didn't even touch the frame.
Clay singled out Smith at the top of the arc and made a three-pointer against the defender, narrowing the point difference to 1 point.
Then the Cavaliers made a pick-and-roll mistake, and Iguodala hit an open three-pointer, narrowing the point difference to 9 points.
James and Mozgov pick and roll, Mozgov catches the ball and scores two points. Curry and David Lee pick and roll, the Cavaliers double-check Curry, and David Lee scores +1, the point difference
Narrowed down to 8 points.
The Cavaliers made a mistake. Curry picked and rolled with David Lee again. The Cavaliers still flanked Curry. David Lee received the ball and the Cavaliers covered up. David Lee passed the ball to Barbosa who was open and Barbosa was near the penalty area.
The throw scored two points, and the score difference became 6 points.
James forced a foul and made one of two free throws. Curry and David Lee picked and rolled. This time the Cavaliers chose to switch defense. The Warriors passed the ball and Barbosa missed a layup. David Lee picked up the offensive rebound and dunked, and the point difference
Narrow it down to 5 points.
James missed a breakaway throw, and TT picked up the offensive rebound and dunked. Curry and David Lee picked up the pick-and-roll. The Cavaliers once again chose to switch defense. Curry singled out TT and hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc, narrowing the point difference to 4 points.
.
After a chaotic battle, Curry challenged TT to break through to the basket and succeeded in a reverse layup, narrowing the point difference to three points.
There was another chaotic battle. With 4 seconds left in the game, Curry came out from the three-point line and made a three-pointer against Dellavedova's defense. The point difference was reduced to one point.
Looking back, Dellavedova and James broke into the penalty area in a pick-and-roll and scored a +1 on Curry's head.
Looking back at the pick-and-roll between Curry and Green, the Cavaliers once again flanked Curry and released Green at the top of the arc. With no one guarding him within three meters, Green rushed to the basket and received a big block. Fortunately, he picked up the offensive rebound, but Curry
Lee and Green were double-teamed in a pick-and-roll, Curry made a pass error, and the Cavaliers gained the ball.
Looking back, James picked and rolled, Curry stepped forward to block, James decisively took a shot from outside the three-point line, hit a three-pointer, and the point difference became 7 points.
With more than a minute left, Curry and Green picked and rolled. The Cavaliers once again flanked Curry. Green was unguarded and missed a three-pointer, and the ball returned to the Cavaliers.
TT made one of two free throws. Looking back, Curry hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc, and the point difference returned to 5 points again.
James pressed for time and missed a mid-range shot at the last moment. Curry picked up the rebound. During the fast break, James stepped forward and tackled Curry with a flying tackle. The referee did not blow the whistle. Dellavedova grabbed the basketball and the Warriors fouled.
Dellavedova made two free throws, and the point difference became 7 points with 5 seconds left in the game.
The Warriors made a service error and were forced to foul. James scored two free throws and the game lost suspense.
In the end, the Cavaliers won the first game at home with 96:91, and the big score became: 1. (To be continued)
