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Warriors nearly blank Cavs in OT, win Game 1

Jun 5, 2015 - 6:14 AM Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Steve Kerr said the Golden State Warriors were lucky to get to overtime, let alone win.

LeBron James surpassed his NBA Finals career-high point total and Iman Shumpert's double clutch follow-up jumper at the regulation buzzer barely clanked off the front of the rim.

"It looked good the whole way," Kerr said of Shumpert's shot.

Once the Warriors got to the extra session, the first-year head coach boldly brought out his super-small, scrappy lineup.

The Cleveland Cavaliers never had an answer.

Stephen Curry had 26 points and the Warriors nearly shut out the Cavaliers in overtime en route to a 108-100 win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

"It was just a classic five minutes that we needed to get that win," Curry said.

James, who scored 44 points, drove in for a meaningless layup with 8.9 seconds remaining for the Cavs' only points in the final five minutes.

"We couldn't get a good look, we couldn't get nothing to drop," James said of overtime.

James was unable to end the game in regulation when his step-back left wing jumper over the outstretched arms of Andre Iguodala ricocheted off the back of the iron.

"I was right there on him," Iguodala said.

It was a similar shot to the game-winning 3-pointer James hit to beat the Warriors in February of 2014.

"I got to where I wanted to get," James said. "It's a make-or-miss league, we had our chances."

Shumpert tracked down the rebound in the right corner just inside the 3-point line and got his jumper off before the horn, but it was off the mark.

The Cavs then went 1-of-9 from the field in overtime and missed 12 of their last 13 shots from the floor overall.

Cleveland also lost All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving in the extra session with a re-aggravation to his left knee while attempting to cross over Klay Thompson. Irving missed two games of the conference finals due to the injury.

"I'm a little worried," Irving said. "Coming in I felt amazing."

Irving will undergo an MRI Wednesday.

Thompson, fully recovered from a concussion in Game 5 of the West finals against the Rockets, posted 21 points and six rebounds for the Warriors, who are in their first NBA Finals since 1975.

Iguodala's 15-point effort led a Golden State bench that outscored Cleveland's 34-9.

Irving finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals, Timofey Mozgov tallied 16 points and seven boards and James added eight rebounds and six helpers for the Cavaliers, who swept the Atlanta Hawks to reach the Finals.

James tied the game at 96-96 with 2:38 left in the fourth with a 3 from the top of the arc.

Neither team scored again until Curry drove in between Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith and pulled up for a jumper from the top of the key for a two-point Golden State edge with 53.6 ticks on the clock.

James found a cutting Mozgov at the other end, and the big Russian sunk a pair of foul shots with 31.9 seconds to go in the quarter to knot the contest again.

Curry appeared to have a clear driving lane along the right wing on the Warriors' next possession, but Irving blocked his layup from behind.

Earlier, Harrison Barnes' right corner 3-pointer staked the Warriors to an early 11-9 advantage before the Cavs surged in front with a 17-2 run. James and Irving each had five points during the swing, with a pull-up triple from James capping it for a 26-13 Cleveland advantage.

Iguodala drove by James for a dunk in the waning seconds of the opening frame to get Golden State within 29-19.

"I thought the first quarter we looked nervous," Kerr said. "After that slow start we started to move the ball better. We competed and stayed with it."

Golden State's reserves led an 8-0 sprint with Curry and Klay Thompson on the bench, with Iguodala's step-back jumper from the left wing clawing the hosts within 29-23.

The Warriors went in front later in the frame with Curry back on the floor. He scored eight straight points, hitting a pair of treys before driving in for a layup from the left wing to give the hosts a 41-36 margin.

James poured in 12 more points in the third and had the ball with the clock winding down in the period. Iguodala's quick hands, however, forced a steal and his fastbreak slam with 1.5 ticks on the clock tied the game at 73-73 heading to the fourth.

Both teams had long layoffs prior to the start of Game 1. Cleveland had eight days off after its sweep, while the Warriors had seven days of rest following their five-game triumph over the Houston Rockets in the West finals.

Game Notes

The Warriors improved to 47-3 at home this season -- including the postseason ... James' previous scoring high was 37 in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs ... The Cavaliers held the Warriors to just 28.6 percent from the field (6-of-21) in the first 12 minutes and held a 17-8 rebounding advantage, including a 4-1 margin on the offensive boards ... Cleveland has yet to win an NBA Finals game in its franchise, falling to 0-5. The Cavs were swept by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals.