Just as the Atlanta Hawks were trying to stage a fourth-quarter comeback, they had a huge defensive lapse and allowed LeBron James a wide-open dunk in the lane. Paul Millsap overplayed LeBron too far out on the perimeter and let him blow right past him. He also didn’t get a whole lot of help defensively, particularly from Kyle Korver, who got out of the way as quickly as he could.
LeBron finished with 31 points, eight rebounds, and six assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 97-89 win over the Hawks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. He also passed Michael Jordan to become the player with the most games with 30-plus points, five assists, and five rebounds in the playoffs.
But it wasn’t all LeBron. He received tremendous help from J.R. Smith, who got hot early and stayed hot in the third quarter en route to 8-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc and 28 points.
Game 2 is Friday at 8:30 EST.
(Vines via Valerie Vine Star and NBA on TNT)
