The Cleveland Cavaliers grabbed an impressive Game 1 road overtime win in the Eastern Conference Semifinals over the Toronto Raptors to take away home court advantage for the series. Much of this was done behind the all-around effort of star forward LeBron James putting together a triple-double effort to help lift his team over the top-seeded East squad.
Following the game, James didn’t exactly voice satisfaction with his performance on the court, calling it as one of the worst outings of the season, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Although James had a strong all-around performance that helped fuel the Cavs’ surge to come back from a double-digit deficit, he struggled with his shot for most of the night scoring just 26 points on 30 field goal attempts that made for a less-than-efficient shooting performance. Several of his shots were bad selections that were forced or either unnecessary that including going 1-of-8 from 3-point range.
Despite all of that, James was biggest when the team needed him most nailing a pair of shots in the final two minutes that helped force an overtime frame with a tough fadeaway over OG Anunoby. He also had a chance to win the game in regulation with a tough fadeaway with 0.6 left in the clock. He didn’t score a point in the overtime period but he did find J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver for back-to-back 3-pointers to start the extra session that set the tone for the frame that helped lift the Cavs to a win.
The fact that James was able to have an off shooting night and still able to have a huge impact on the game with his rebounding and playmaking speak of the unique talent that he possesses. His effort has helped put the Cavaliers in the position to potentially grab a 2-0 series lead before heading back to the Quicken Loans Arena.
