LeBron James was reportedly angrier than ever after a late call reversal sunk the Cavaliers chances in Game 1 of the NBA Finals
- The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors in heartbreaking fashion in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
- The Cavaliers were positioned to win the game in regulation, but unraveled in the final seconds due in part to a controversial call reversal from the referees.
- After the game, LeBron James was reportedly as mad as he's ever been, while head coach Tyronn Lue argued that the call should have never been reviewable in the first place.
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 1 in heartbreaking fashion on Thursday night, falling in overtime to the Golden State Warriors, 124-114.
Likely the most important moment at the end of regulation came when the officials reviewed, and ultimately reversed what had been called a charge on the court. With the Cavaliers leading 104-102 with just 30 seconds remaining, Kevin Durant drove into the lane and was met by LeBron James, who slid in for the stop.
Durant knocked James to the ground, and the bang-bang play was called a charge on the court. But the officials decided to review the play, and would ultimately decide to change the call to a block, swinging the game to the Warriors. Durant hit two free throws to tie the game. The back-and-forth final seconds ended in a tie, forcing overtime, when J.R. Smith dribbled out the clock, appearing to forget the score.
After the game, LeBron was furious with the decision.
"I read that play just as well as I've read any play in my career, maybe in my life," James said. "I [had] seen the play happening. I knew I was outside the charge line, and I knew I took the hit."
Beyond what he said on the record, ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on "SportsCenter" after the game that James anger with the call went beyond anything that he had seen from him before in his career.
"I've seen a lot of Finals losses for LeBron. I've seen a lot of Finals losses in this building for LeBron. I've never seen him so angry," said Windhorst. "He was furious."
He continued:
"I can't say what he said when he was not on microphone, but I'll just say that LeBron felt like they got the wrong end of the stick tonight - just a lot more stronger than that. Not because of JR Smith. Not at George Hill, who missed a free throw. They're angry at the block/charge call reversal. They feel like by the letter of the law it may have been right, but by the spirit of the law it wasn't."
You can watch Windhorst's comments below.
Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue was also understandably upset with the decision, and argued that the call should have never been up for review in the first place.
"LeBron was clearly four feet outside the restricted area," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "So it doesn't make sense to go review something if - the review is if he's on the line or if he's close to the charge circle, that's the review. He wasn't close."
The Cavaliers unraveling in the final seconds ended up wasting one of the best performances of LeBron James' career. The team will need to reset if they are to have any hope of coming back and winning Game 2, but there's no doubt that the referees' decision will weigh on them for days to come.
More NBA Finals coverage:
- Tyronn Lue and the NBA world are baffled by the controversial foul change on LeBron James in Game 1 of the Finals
- J.R. Smith had a perplexing explanation for his end-of-game blunder that cost the Cavs in Game 1 of the Finals
Kevin Love appeared to violate a rule the NBA takes very seriously and it could cost him Game 2
- This photo of a very upset LeBron James sums up the brutal way the Cleveland Cavaliers blew the win in the final seconds
- A frustrated LeBron James cut his NBA Finals press conference off, told media to 'be better tomorrow,' after repeated questions about JR Smith's blunder