NBA Finals 2015: Stephen Curry y los Golden State Warriors se llevan el primer juego de la serie

NBA en Directo: Finales de la NBA 2015

Por Daniel “Mr. Clutch” Mercado Castro

Y los Warriors se llevaron el primero. Golden State venció 108-100 a Cleveland en tiempo extra para tomar ventaja en la serie 1-0. Los Warriors ganaron 10-2 el tiempo adicional y aunque no pudieron parar a LeBron James, quien anotó 44 con 8 rebotes y 6 asistencias, si dominaron 34-9 a los Cavs en puntos del banco. Iguodala lideró el banco con 15 puntos. LeBron tuvo oportunidad de ganar el juego en tiempo regular luego de que Kyrie Irving le propinara un tapón a Stephen Curry en lo que parecía una simple güira en los segundos finales. LeBron tiró 38-18 de campo y fue el único que anotó por los Cavs en el tiempo extra. Los Cavs comenzaron erráticos el tiempo adicional al tirar 8-0 mientras que los Warriors contaron con 7 puntos entre Curry y Barnes. Curry terminó con 26 puntos, 8 asistencias, 2 robos de balón y 4 rebotes, pero sus puntos no fueron fáciles mientras Irving estuvo en cancha. Su defensa sobre Curry fue efectiva durante el tiempo de ambos en cancha. Inclusive Curry aprovechó para colar gran parte de sus puntos cuando tenía otro defendiéndolo o cuando Irving estaba descansando. Por ende, la perdida de Irving será más que dolorosa para los Cavs luego de colar 23 puntos con 7 rebotes, 6 asistencias, 4 robos de balón y 2 tapones en el primer juego. Irving se volvió a lastimar la rodilla y perderá de 3 a 4 meses de juego. En esta Final de MVP VS MVP, Stephen Curry se lleva el primer round sobre LeBron James.

Los Cavs arrancaron dominando el primer cuarto 29-19 con 12 puntos de LeBron. Los Warriors ganan el segundo 22-29 con 10 puntos de Curry. La mitad termina 51-48. El tercer cuarto termina empatados a 73 con los Warriors ganando el mismo 25-23 mientras que termina el cuarto parcial empatados a 98 con 25 puntos para cada equipo. El banco fue clave para la victoria de los Warriors, que aparte de Iguodala, también puso su granito Speights con 8 puntos y Ezeli con 5. Los 9 puntos de los Cavs fueron tres bombazos de JR Smith. Los Cavs contaron con 16 puntos y 7 rebotes de Timofey Mozgov mientras que Klay Thompson coló 21 puntos por los Warriors. La dupleta de Draymond Green y Harrison Barnes se combinaron para 23 puntos. Los Warriors tiraron 27-10 de tres puntos y los Cavs solo de 31-9. Los Warriors también dominaron en tiros libres 22-20 a 19-13, los rebotes 48-45 y las asistencias 24-19. Tristan Thompson no fue una factor en nada a solo colar 2 puntos y ser mal usado en la posición de centro.

Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr became the first coach to win Game 1 of The Finals in his first season as an NBA head coach since Mike Dunleavy and the Lakers defeated the Bulls in Game 1 of the 1991 Finals.

·         Golden State improved to 5-2 all-time in Game 1 of the NBA Finals (25-30 overall in Game 1s).

·         Tonight’s game was the first Game 1 of the NBA Finals to be tied entering the fourth quarter since 1959, when the Lakers and Celtics were even at 84 apiece after three quarters.

·         Golden State played its second overtime game in the NBA Finals, last going to OT in Game 1 of the 1967 NBA Finals on April 14, 1967, a 141-135 loss in Philadelphia.

·         Tonight’s game marked the first time that Game 1 of the NBA Finals went to overtime since 2001, when the 76ers defeated the Lakers, 107-101, on June 6, 2001.

·         The Warriors played in their 10^th overtime playoff game in franchise history, improving to 4-6 in such games.

·         Golden State scored the first 10 points of the overtime period.

·         The Warriors held the Cavaliers to two points in the overtime frame, tying the fewest a team has scored in overtime of a Finals game in the Shot Clock Era… Previously, the Lakers held the Pistons to two points on June 8, 2004, in Game 2 of the 2004 Finals… The two-point overtime period is the fewest an opponent has scored against the Warriors in any playoff overtime frame in the Shot Clock Era. 

·         There were 13 lead changes tonight, a high for any Warriors playoff game this season.

·         The Warriors appeared in their first NBA Finals game since May 25, 1975, when they completed a four-game sweep over the Washington Bullets to capture their lone Bay Area championship.

·         The Warriors and Cavaliers met in a postseason game for the first time ever.

·         Golden State snapped a 40-year NBA Finals drought, the longest stretch between two NBA Finals appearances by any franchise in NBA history (1975 to 2015).

·         Golden State’s Steve Kerr and Cleveland’s David Blatt were the first head coaches to meet in an NBA Finals in their first season as a head coach since 1947—the league’s first season—when Eddie Gottlieb’s Philadelphia Warriors faced off against Harold Olsen’s Chicago Stags… Kerr and Blatt are the first head coaches to make the NBA Finals in their first season as a coach since Phoenix’s Paul Westphal led the Suns to the 1993 Finals. 

·         Golden State played its first game in the month of June in franchise history.

·         The Warriors earned their 13^th victory of the postseason, the team’s most wins in a single postseason… It was Golden State’s 80^th win of the season (67 regular season wins).

·         Golden State improved to 47-3 (.940) at home this season, including an 8-1 mark in the postseason.

·         Cleveland lost for the first time this postseason when LeBron James scored at least 30 points (7-1 this playoffs).

·         Golden State’s bench outscored Cleveland’s 34-9.

·         Golden State sold out its 132^nd consecutive game at Oracle Arena (50^th this season).

·         The Warriors will host the Cavaliers in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, June 7, at 5:00 p.m. at Oracle Arena.

·         Stephen Curry scored a team-high 26 points to go with eight assists, giving him a franchise-record 104 assists in a single postseason (previously Rick Barry with 103 assists in 1975)… Curry tied an NBA-record for most consecutive playoff games with multiple three-pointers, matching Ray Allen’s streak of 21-straight from 1999-2001.

·         Klay Thompson scored 21 points and hit a postseason career-high 8-of-8 at the free throw line… It was the 11^th time that both Curry and Thompson have scored 20-plus in the same game (9-2)

·         LeBron James led all scorers with 44 points—his highest scoring output ever in a Finals game.

·         Andre Iguodala led all reserves with 15 points (6-of-8) in 32 minutes.