After putting up yet another great performance on Wednesday night, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James is three wins away from earning his fifth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.
Leading Cleveland past the Atlanta Hawks 97-89 in Game 1, James scored 31 points, added eight rebounds and dished out six assists. Tying Stephen Curry for the most three-pointers in a single game this postseason, J.R. Smith added 28 points on 8-of-12 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the recently acquired Timofey Mozgov added 10 points and 11 boards.
The game didn’t get off to a roaring start for the visiting Cavaliers, who found themselves down by six after the first quarter. James made just one field goal and turned the ball over twice in the opening stanza. He responded by adding 14 points in the second quarter to help Cleveland make it a tie game at the half.
Cleveland then took over for good in the third quarter, outscoring the Hawks by seven to take the lead. Atlanta made just four field goals in the third quarter, including just one in the final seven minutes. Overall, it just wasn’t a good night for Atlanta on offense. The team shot 4-of-23 from beyond the arc and dished out just 19 assists on 34 field goals.
Unfortunately for the top seed, this loss could be more damaging than simply falling down 1-0 in the series. Starting small forward DeMarre Carroll exited the game with what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the fourth quarter.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer indicated that Carroll suffered a knee sprain and will undergo an MRI on Thursday. The forward was also seen leaving the team’s locker room in crutches. This could be a major blow to the Hawks, especially considering what Carroll did to shut down James during the regular year.
Courtesy of ESPN
Cleveland’s lead eventually opened up to 18 points as it scored the first 11 points of the final stanza. Interestingly, Atlanta made a run after Carroll went down with the knee injury, pulling to within 91-87 with less than a minute left.
Then this happened:
For all intents and purposes, that put the game away.
Jeff Teague led all Hawks players with 27 points on 11-of-24 from the field. Al Horford added 16 points and seven boards.
Now down 1-0 in the series, Game 2 in Atlanta on Friday night pretty much becomes a must win for the Hawks.
News & Notes
J.R. Smith scored 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting. The rest of Cleveland’s bench failed to score (0-of-9 from the field.
Cleveland’s starting front court out-rebounded Atlanta’s 29-15.
Atlanta outscored Cleveland 13-7 after Carroll exited with the knee injury. It initially went on an 11-1 run before James’ massive dunk.
James is averaging 26.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game this postseason (11 games).
James also broke Michael Jordan’s career playoff record with his 52nd game of at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Smith’s eight three pointers accounted for twice as much as the Hawks made in Game 1.
Atlanta’s bench finished a combined -35 point differential, while the Cavaliers bench was a combined +29 in that category.
Game 2 is at 8:30 p.m ET on Friday at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia (TNT)
Photo: USA Today Sports