SAN ANTONIO. — The Spurs ignored the deification of LeBron James in Game 1 of the NBA Finals last night.
James, the subject of lavish praise after leading the Cavaliers past the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals, was initiated into a higher level of basketball by the championship-tested Spurs.
James endured a dreadful performance as the Spurs cut off his paths to the basket and turned him into an ineffective perimeter shooter.
That compelling show of force allowed the Spurs to defeat the Cavaliers 85-76 in a grind-it-out affair that did not make for pretty basketball.
James made only four of 16 field goal attempts and finished with 14 points and six turnovers.
That crippled the offensively limited Cavaliers, who had no one score more than 16 points.
The Spurs put the game away with a 13-4 scoring run to close the third quarter. That gave the Spurs a 64-49 lead.
James hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter with the outcome of the game no longer in doubt.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich expressed satisfaction with his team’s defense on James.
It started with Bruce Bowen, who spent much of the game chasing James.
“Bruce always guards the best player on the other team, or at least nine times out of 10,” Popovich said. “He takes great pride in guarding the other team’s best player. He doesn’t always stop him. Our team defense is what we count on, but team defense begins with individuals taking responsibility, and I think Bruce does that very well. Sometimes shots don’t fall for people. In the next game, [James] may shoot 60 percent.”
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown acknowledged the difficulties that enveloped James.
“I’ve seen him struggle before, and he struggled mightily tonight,” Brown said. “They did a great job on him. They closed down the paint, and we tried to play pick-and-roll with him. He wasn’t getting into the paint, and they were putting two or three bodies in his way. What we have to do, when he kicks the ball out, is hit shots. That will get them out of that defense.”
James certainly tried to involve his teammates on offense, with little success.
His share-the-ball attitude, while laudable, is not about to bother the Spurs.
If the Spurs are going to lose because of Larry Hughes or Sasha Pavlovic or Daniel Gibson hitting meaningful shots, they seem prepared to accept that because of their defensive emphasis on James.
Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who had a game-high 27 points and seven assists, said it was a point of emphasis to keep James out of the three-second lane.
“We didn’t want to give him any layups or dunks,” Parker said.
James had two layups and two 3-pointers, all in the second half.
James was 0-for-7 shooting in the first half and 2-for-12 after three quarters. That bout of anemia was especially hard on a team that had no one taking a significant role on offense.
James conceded the obvious. He was in a funk.
“You definitely have to give the Spurs a lot of credit,” James said. “Some of it was me missing shots I normally make and some of it was their defense. I’d say it was probably half and half.”
Spurs forward Tim Duncan fashioned another exemplary performance in the postseason, with 24 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.
He thought the Spurs at times looked out of sync because of the lengthy layoff. The Spurs eliminated the Jazz in the Western Conference finals on May 30.
“You know what?” Duncan said. “It felt like we last played a month ago. So it felt good to get out there and get that rust off.”
He also felt fairly positive about the way the Spurs reduced James to ordinary.
“All in all, I thought we did a pretty decent job on him defensively,” Duncan said. “We contained very well. We held them to 76 points. That’s right where we need to be.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.